Singing' Wasn't in my Contract
by Brackenfrond
Summary: Six demigods get sent on a mission - a mission to gather demigods from Lima, Ohio. It seemed simple enough - until they realised that they had to sing. Personally, Ethan blamed Annabeth. Annabeth didn't seem to care. OC
1. Chapter 1

**I OWN NOTHING! ONLY FAHRA!**

XoOoX

"Why did Chiron send us here again? It smells icky and the jocks here are gits." Fahra wrinkled her nose, pulling on the edge of her red jumper. "Actually, why did he send me and Thalia here? I mean, Nico now lives at Camp, along with Ethan. But Thals is, like, leader of the hunt and I don't like Camp."

"Why don't you like camp?" Ethan asked cheerily. He had changed a lot from the confused boy who had joined Kronos' army. The mist allowed it so he didn't need to wear an eye patch, but he did anyway, in case of mortals who could see through the mist. His black hair was messy and his one brown eye glittered with amusement.

"'Cause I don't." Fahra nudged Ethan in the side with her elbow. "Annie, why are we here?"

"Don't call me Annie." Annabeth snapped, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her left ear. "And because Chiron detected a large amount of magical energy here or something along those lines. It's our job to find out where it's coming from and who's causing it. It's definitely obvious that these kids don't know their heritage. The only monsters around here are the normal human ones."

"And they're almost as bad as the creatures." Thalia piped up, shrugging her silver hunter jacket off and piling it into her locker.

"So, Chiron sent five demi-gods here, to Lima, Ohio –"

"Why is it called Lima, anyway?" Percy asked.

"- instead of Satyrs." Fahra carried on, ignoring the son of Poseidon's comment. "Because there was a high magical energy?"

"Basically." Annabeth replied. Thalia closed the locker and checked her timetable.

"I have Spanish first, which sucks. I don't know any Spanish."

"I think us four –" Fahra gestured to Thalia, Nico, herself and Ethan. "Have the same classes. Annabeth, you're stuck with Percy in whatever lesson you have. We should go – see you later!"

At that, the small group split up. Thalia, Nico, Fahra and Ethan going one way, Percy and Annabeth the other. They thought this job was going to be simple. They could sort out the entire situation in a second, and then leave for good. Unfortunately, the Fates must not have wanted it to be that way.

XoooX

Fahra, so far, was satisfied with how the day was going. She didn't like the school, of course, but who did? She thought nothing could spoil her day at all.

Then she saw that kid being cornered.

It shouldn't have bothered her that much. She had faced monsters worse than a jock, but the kid, who was probably a year older than her and shouldn't be called a kid, looked absolutely terrified. He had brown hair and was wearing a bowtie, which was totally cool. The other kid was holding a cup in his hand.

Fahra was known for being impulsive, so her yell of "Oi, leave him alone!" Was very much expected from Thalia. What wasn't expected was the contents of the cup to be flung into the smaller girls face, leaving her covered in purple slush. The jock was gone before Thalia could retaliate. The boy who the slushie had been intended for had moved over to Fahra, checking her over, a look of guilt on his face. Fahra did not look pleased.

"What the hell was that?" The daughter of Hecate was not happy. Her jumper was drenched and her black hair was covered in purple parts of ice.

"That was a slushie facial." The boy answered. "A common 'hello, you're at the bottom of the food chain' welcoming gift from Azimio. You ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Fahra hesitantly opened an eye, before closing it again. "Ugh, this sucks. Can I go and die yet?"

"Fahra." Ethan was butting in now. "Don't be silly. You can borrow my jacket, your highness."

"Oh, you're the new kids!" The boy seemed to brighten slightly. "Pleasure to meet you – I'm Kurt Hummel."

"I'm Nico Di Angelo." Nico decided he might as well join in the conversation, Thalia walking over as well. "This is Ethan Nakumura and Fahra Swift."

"Thalia Grace." Thalia introduced herself, inclining her head.

"Yeah, yeah. But we really should be getting to Spanish." Fahra had managed to pull her jumper off and had stolen Ethan's jacket, shrugging it on nonchalantly.

"Ah, so you're with Mr. Schue." Kurt looked knowledgeable, but eyed the three of them in interest. "You wouldn't happen to be able to sing, would you?"

"N –"

"Fahra sings in the shower."

"ETHAN!"

"What, you could always hear you at Camp."

"Um, I do a bit."

"Not really, no. But I could give it a try."

"Ethan, I hate you. You sang all the way here this morning! And it was off key!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"SHUT UP!" The two stopped bickering immediately and looked at Thalia with repentant eyes. Kurt looked slightly bemused. "I sing a bit. Nico hasn't tried it. Fahra and Ethan do, a lot more than me –"

"Oi!"

"-but that's because they have the time to. Why?"

"Well, there's a glee club on after school. Would you mind, you know, dropping in? We're looking for members."

"Sure, we'll see Kurt. But we need to get to Spanish. I suppose we'll see you around?"

"Of course. Bye!"

"See ya!"

XoooX

"You are so joining that glee club." Annabeth speared some pasta on her fork, looked at it in slight disgust, before placing it into her mouth and chewing on it. "Ew, gross."

"Annabeth!" Ethan whined. "I don't want to!"

"Tough." Annabeth had abandoned her lunch, in favour of staring down Ethan. "We need to get into as many of these clubs as possible. Meet new people. Figure out where the energy is coming from and BAM! We've got it. Then we can go home. End of discussion."

"I hate you." Fahra said casually, nibbling on the end of a carrot. "I really can't be bothered to do extracurricular activity."

"And you know I don't sing. My dad would kill me if he found out I was in a club called 'glee'." Nico began to pulverise his tater tots, looking down right gloomy.

"You heard what Annabeth said, guys." Percy shrugged. "You have to join."

Fahra scowled, flinging a pea at his head. It bounced off Percy's forehead and fell to the floor, rolling away to Zeus knows where.

"Hello. Mind if I join you?" Fahra turned her head to see Kurt standing there, a girl next to him. Her skin tone was dark, as were her eyes. She had black hair and a smile on her face.

"Sure you can. This is Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. They came here with us." Ethan moved closer to Fahra to make room for the other girl, who smiled in thanks and took the empty space.

"Mercedes Jones." She introduced herself. "I'm guessing you're Fahra Swift, the girl who took the slushie."

"Yep. That's me. This is Ethan Nakumura, Nico Di Angelo and Thalia Grace. Oh, Annie, Percy, this is Kurt Hummel. The guy who told us about glee."

"Oh, you're thinking about joining?" Mercedes asked. "Great! We need new talent. Anyone's welcome."

"Good, because those four are definitely joining." Annabeth chimed, ignoring the glare Nico shot her. "They'll see you after school in the choir room."

"Great!" Kurt and Mercedes began to eat their lunch, making small talk with the demi-gods, completely oblivious to the death glares the four who had so kindly volunteered to join glee were shooting the blond haired girl sitting across from them.

XoooX

"Hey, Mr Schue. We got some new members!"

If Nico had hoped he could get away from glee, he was so wrong. Mercedes had practically dragged all four of them into the choir room. So he was now looking at a group of very, very different teenagers.

Kurt was there, and he was glad that there was at least one person who looked happy to see them. There were three girls, dressed in red and white Cheerio uniforms. He only knew they were Cheerio uniforms because Annabeth had decided to research the school fully before they were sent here. There was an Asian girl and boy, who were obviously a couple. There was a brown haired girl, who was looking slightly disgruntled, and there was a tall brunette boy sitting close by. There was a kid in a wheelchair, which looked about his age. The last two were boys, one with a mowhawk and the kind of vibe that Ares kids gave off, and one with blond hair.

"Ah, excellent. I had all four of you in my Spanish class this morning, didn't I?" Nico didn't mind Mr Schue. He was definitely an improvement on Mr D, anyway.

"Yes, sir." Fahra said. She was hopping from foot to foot, looking quite nervous. "We, sort of need to sing, don't we?"

"Ah, yes. Would you like to start?"

"I'm doing a duet. With Ethan. That's alright, right?" Fahra had grasped Ethan's wrist in what appeared to be a tight grip. When Mr Schue nodded, she let out a sigh of relief. Nico and Thalia moved to take two empty seats while Ethan and Fahra prepared to sing.

_I let it ride on a bad bet_

_I doubled down on a sinking ship_

_I need a second to catch my breath_

_Do you want me_

_Or do you want me dead?_

Well, Nico wasn't expecting Fahra to have such an amazing voice. At least, not that good. She was enjoying the song, at least. I suited her, though, he had to admit. The lyrics, definitely, especially about when she joined the wrong side in the war. Then Ethan took over.

**Oh, give it up for at least a second**

**I'm getting sick of your bullsh*t attitude**

**And how you walk around like you shine brighter**

**It's killing me**

**So what do you say?**

**Do you want me**

**Or do you want me dead?**

Ethan's voice was good as well. Nico didn't know the son of Nemesis very well, but he seemed nice enough and had definitely seen the error of his ways, especially since, as far as he knew, he tried to take out the king of the titans on his own. How he managed to avoid death, he wasn't sure.

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, oh)**_

_**I'm staring down the barrel of a loaded night**_

_**(Loaded night)**_

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, yeah)**_

_**So do you want me**_

_**Do you want me dead?**_

And the two voices merged well together. The two loved it, dancing around like maniacs, which they were. The rest of the club members were laughing at them, some of them rocking out in their seats, some merely grinning.

**You're trigger-happy at harbor side**

**You're taking shots at the strangers passing**

_**There's no such thing as a perfect crime**_

_Don't play that_

_You've said it enough_

_**'Cause you want me**_

_**Or you want me dead**_

Nico almost couldn't believe these two didn't want to join before. They were rocking the song, laughing like maniacs between lines, doing some dance moves which looked choreographed, but obviously had just been put together, as sometimes Ethan caught on too late, or Fahra would end up doing a move which didn't fit in and would change it immediately. But the rest of the group seemed to enjoy it. Nico sure was, along with Thalia.

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, oh)**_

_**I'm staring down the barrel of a loaded night**_

_**(Loaded night)**_

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, yeah)**_

_**So do you want me**_

_**Do you want me**_

_Dead set on a getaway_

_I'm dead set on a getaway_

_I'm dead set on a getaway_

_I'm dead set on a getaway_

**I let it ride on a bad bet**

**I doubled down on a sinking ship**

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, oh)**_

_**I'm staring down the barrel of a loaded night**_

_**(Loaded night)**_

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, yeah)**_

_**So do you want me**_

_**What you say?**_

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, oh)**_

_**I'm staring down the barrel of a loaded night**_

_**(Loaded night)**_

_**I've got my hands up**_

_**(Yeah, yeah)**_

_**So do you want me**_

_**Oh, oh**_

_**Do you want me**_

_**Do you want me dead?**_

He two stopped, panting slightly. Everyone began to clap, before the couple burst out laughing, hugging each other in a celebratory manner. Mr Schue clapped at a more serene pace, but was beaming.

"That was amazing Fahra, Ethan. Consider yourself members!" The two let out whoops, before high fiving and taking two more spare seats, next to Kurt, and began to talk amiably about something, faces flushed with exhilaration and beaming with pride.

"Ok, I'll go up next." Thalia stood up, walking towards the front of the room.

_On the ground I lay_

_Motionless in pain_

_I can see my life flashing before my eyes_

_Did I fall asleep?_

_Is this all a dream_

_Wake me up, I'm living a nightmare_

Nico managed to hide his snort. Three Days Grace – so typical. Thalia was obsessed with the band, so it wasn't surprising to hear one of their songs spilling from her lips. Her voice was a little rougher than Fahra's, but it was still really, really good. Especially as she hadn't sang as much as the other girl.

_I will not die (I will not die)_

_I will survive_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I feel alive, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_I will not die, when you're beside me_

_I will not die, I'll wait here for you_

_In my time of dying_

The song was much shorter than the original and Fahra and Ethan's – she obviously wanted to get it over and done with. It ended with applause again and Mr Schue's approval. Thalia muttered a thank you, before returning to her seat and pushing Nico up to begin.

He almost protested. Almost. But then he realised that, heck, if he was terrible he wouldn't have to do this. That, and Annabeth wouldn't maim him for not even attempting. He rummaged through his brain for a modern song to sing, and he began.

_She paints her fingers with a close precision_

_He starts to notice empty bottles of gin_

_And takes a moment to assess the sin_

_She's paid for_

Ok, it seemed he was better than he thought he was. Fahra and Ethan were giving him thumbs up, Kurt rolling his eyes slightly at the two. Thalia was beaming. The rest of the club didn't look like they were being deafened so, all in all, he must be doing a pretty good job.

_A lonely speaker in a conversation_

_Her words are swimming through his ears again_

_There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've _

_paid for_

_Say what you mean_

_Tell me I'm right_

_And let the sun rain down on me_

_Give me a sign_

_I want to believe_

Now it was the chorus. The bit he was more worried about. Anyone could do the part which was barely singing, but this was the one part where it was more upbeat and more singing. But he had to give it a go.

_Woah, Mona Lisa,_

_You're guaranteed to run this town_

_Woah, Mona Lisa,_

_I'd pay to see you frown_

It must have gone well. The guy with the mohawk let out a whistle and Fahra clapped slightly.

_He senses something, call it desperation_

_Another dollar, another day_

_And if she had the proper words to say, _

_She would tell him_

_But she'd have nothing left to sell him_

_Say what you mean_

_Tell me I'm right_

_And let the sun rain down on me_

_Give me a sign_

_I want to believe_

_Woah, Mona Lisa,_

_You're guaranteed to run this town_

_Woah, Mona Lisa,_

_I'd pay to see you frown_

_Say what you mean_

_Tell me I'm right_

_And let the sun rain down on me_

_Give me a sign_

_I want to believe_

_There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've _

_paid for_

He finished, panting and to a round of applause. He barely registered Mr Schue's compliments and merely flopped down in his seat, relieved. Thalia patted him on the back in congratulations. Nico was just relieved it was finally over. Now, Annabeth would stop nagging him. At last.

XoOoX

This is, obviously, a Glee and Percy Jackson crossover. My latest obsession is Glee, thus this was born. It is AU, at least on the Percy Jackson side.

For one, Nico's about sixteen. For another, Ethan never died. Grover saved him from the hole in time and he was the first person Apollo healed.

Anyway, this starts after the Battle of Manhattan in Percy Jackson, and during the episode 'Never Been Kissed', which will be started next chapter. That is, if you guys like it.

I'll probably continue anyway, to satisfy my love of Glee, but I would still like reviews. So, yeah.

Review guys! I will be grateful! ~Jazz


	2. Never been Kissed (Ethan Goes Spying)

**I OWN NOTHING! I ONLY OWN FAHRA!**

XoOoX

Nico was still reeling over the fact that Fahra and Ethan were excited about joining glee. He'd caught both of them in the daughter of Hecate's room this morning, dancing and singing along to What the Hell, which offended Nico greatly and made him question his friends taste in music. He got away with watching them for twenty seconds, until Fahra noticed him and slammed the door shut in his face.

Thalia seemed to be ok with it, in general. Especially when Puck, the guy with the Mohawk, invited her to play COD or something along those lines with the rest of the guys in the club. He'd asked Nico, who refused after having bad experiences with video games after spending fifty or so years in the Lotus Hotel, and Ethan, who also declined, saying he was going to grab coffee with Fahra. Thalia came back, gloating about how she'd managed to beat almost all of them. It must be something to do with being a hunter of Artemis, Nico concluded.

To be a hundred per cent honest, he wasn't sure if he was comfortable with being in glee. He felt slightly…out of place. He was the quiet kid who sat in the corner. He wasn't too happy, but he put up with it, because Annabeth would kill him if he decided to drop out, which was completely unfair.

But, then again, he did have friends there. Fahra, Ethan and Thalia, of course, but Kurt and Mercedes were nice as well, though Kurt did criticize his fashion sense a lot. Nico didn't mind too much – he realised that was the way Kurt rolled, and accepted it. After all, his friends accepted his ability to communicate with the dead, so someone who was a bit obsessed with wardrobes wasn't going to cause too much trouble.

They were currently sitting in the choir room, waiting for Mr Schue. Kurt was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Fahra, something to do with scarves. When the daughter of Hecate let out a squeal before flinging herself at Kurt in an over dramatic hug, Nico assumed Kurt was going to let her have one of his scarves. Ethan and Thalia were talking about something in hushed voices, probably wondering when the mission was going to end, when Mr Schue walked in and the entire group quietened down.

"Alright guys, I have a list of our competition for Sectionals next month!" Most of the club clapped, some letting out whoops. Nico snorted internally, clapping half-heartedly. "First, the all a cappella choir from the all-boys private school in Westerville, the Dalton Academy Warblers."

A few more claps and whoops, before Santana cut in.

"Wait, hold up, like a million awesome gay jokes just popped into my head." Nico saw her glance at Kurt, who returned it with an exasperated look on his face, as though he was used to this. Nico frowned slightly. No one should be used to being picked on like that.

"The other team to beat; The Hipsters, a first year club from the Warren Township continuing education program. Now they are a group composed entirely of elderly people getting their High School GDD's."

Rachel looked up confused, "Is that legal?" Thalia snorted rather loudly, hiding her giggles behind her palm when people turned to stare at her.

"How are we supposed to compete against a bunch of adorable old people?" asked Mercedes, Fahra looking slightly amused.

"Are you kidding?" asked Puck, "Riddle bones. Give one of those old laddies a good luck pat on the rear and shatter her pelvis."

"Pleasant, Puck." Fahra stated, rolling her eyes. "You are such a charmer."

"Moving on…" said Mr Schue "Since it seemed to get you guys jazzed about Sectionals last year, I want to make this week our second annual boys vs. girls tournament." He said as members of the group cheered.

"So split up into two groups, and uh… figure out what songs you're going to sing." He said.

When he turned around, shifting through papers, possibly music sheets, the group split up.

"So, you do these things a lot then, huh?" Ethan asked Mike, who nodded.

"Uh-huh. We did it last year – it was fun."

"Apart from the fact we got high on vitamin D." Artie added. Nico spluttered slightly.

"Wait, what?"

"We got high on vitamin D."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

"I'm not going to say it again Kurt, Boys' team." Nico frowned slightly once again as he saw Kurt giving the teacher an exasperated look, before turning and trudging over to their group. Nico gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Cheer up – we aren't that bad, are we?" The son of Hades gave him a weak smile, which Kurt returned.

"Some of you aren't, but, well…" His gaze returned to the girl's group, where they were talking enthusiastically, Rachel mostly, though Santana and Quinn kept butting in often, Fahra and Thalia watching on in amusement.

Nico had tuned out the boy's chattering as he sighed slightly, throwing an arm around Kurt's shoulders in a comforting gesture.

"Cheer up – you'll do fine, and we will totally crush the girls because we are amazing."

"Oh, I know I am!" Ethan butted in, a massive grin on his face.

"Shut up, Ethan."

Kurt, finally, let out a smile and the three tuned back into the boys' conversation.

XoooX

Food was, honestly, the first thing on Thalia's mind as she walked down the corridor. A burger and chips would be nice, but to be honest, she was just hungry.

She absent mindedly tugged her leather jacket closer to her body, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. She figured the only reason no one had decided to pick on her, was the fact that her image didn't pose her as a delicate person. Leather jacket, Green Day T-shirt, black skinny jeans and black, knee length boots. Her bangs were died a dark blue.

She figured the main reason she actually liked being at McKinley was the fact that she could wear exactly what she wanted, and no one really gave a damn. Unlike with Kurt.

Thalia actually really liked Kurt. He had guts, he didn't care that he stuck out. It was obvious he was gay, he was open about it and Thalia commended his bravery about it. She knew this school was full of idiots who would hurt people if they were different. Thalia chuckled inwardly at the thought of what they would do if they figured out that she was a daughter of a god and could probably kill them with a flick of her fingers.

That's when she saw Kurt being pushed into some lockers by some ugly jock.

"What is your problem?" He'd called out in retaliation and the guy turned around.

"You taking back to me?! You want a piece of the Fury?!" he said getting closer, full up in Kurt's face, almost nose to nose. Thalia wanted to smack him, but she watched. She would intervene when necessary.

"The Fury?" Kurt asked him, almost monotonously.

"That's what I named my fist."

"Well with the level of creativity you could easily become assistant manager at a wintering plant." Thalia let out a snort at the retaliation. Man, she liked Kurt a lot.

"I don't know what that is…" The jock stated, still glaring at Kurt. "But if I find out its bad, the Fury's gonna find you." He said as he pushed him back against the lockers and Thalia snapped.

"Back off!" She yelled, glaring a little. The jock merely looked at her and Thalia turned her glare on fully. He merely snorted, before striding off. "Bastard." She muttered under her breath, before turning to Kurt.

"You ok?" The boy had his head resting against the locker, and took in a deep breath, before opening his eyes and smiling weakly at Thalia.

"I will be." She knew it was a lie, but didn't point it out, only nodding slightly.

"Kurt?" Both of the teens made to face the direction the voice came from, seeing Mr Schue. "Would you mind coming to my office for a while?"

"Of course." Kurt responded, moving from his space. Thalia placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked gently. Food could wait. No one, and she meant no one, hurt someone who she cared about. Kurt smiled slightly at her.

"No, honestly. I'll be fine. You head to lunch – Fahra, Nico and Ethan will be looking for you."

Thalia didn't head straight to lunch, watching as Mr Schue and Kurt walked down the corridor. She didn't move from her spot until they had both entered the Spanish teachers office, out of the way of the rest of the school.

Out of the way of anyone who could hurt Kurt again.

XoooX

"Look I'm not tossing the baby out of the bath water here." said Mr. Shue. Ethan raised an eyebrow at the terminology. What the Hades did that mean?

"I've totally done that," said Brittany. Now Ethan was just completely and utterly bewildered. Nico looked the same, raising a critical eyebrow and looking at Brittany.

Mr Schue, who should have been used to this by now, sported the same look on his face, but he continued none the less. "We're just making it a little adjustment. Boys, you are now doing songs traditionally sung by girl groups." Ok, the boys didn't look overall pleased, aside from Kurt, who was grinning, looking eager. Ethan could cope with that – Fahra had forced him into performing a few girl group songs before. He could do this. "And girls, try some classic rock, uh, the Who, the Stones." Thalia let out a whoop and fist pumped the air. The rest of the girls, aside from Fahra, gave her a critical look. Thalia merely grinned. "The more opposite your choice, the more points you get." Mr Schue finally finished, looking around at the glee club.

Kurt leaned forward in his seat to talk to the rest of the group. Ethan sighed, leaning back in his chair, whilst Nico put his feet on the boys lap, looking totally relaxed.

"Don't worry gentlemen, I have this under control." Kurt said a confident look on his face. Ethan wondered what he had gotten himself into.

XoooX

"Now obviously for this medley to work I'm going to have to sing lead, and of course when your singing Diana Ross, feather boas are a _must_."

Ok, Ethan was really wondering what he got himself into. Nico, being very un-son of Hades-like was giggling silently where he was sat, hand over his mouth. The other boys weren't looking amused, but rather disgruntled.

Artie leaned towards the other guys, "Isn't this lesson about opposites? I mean you in a sequin gown and a feather boa is exactly what you'd expect." Ethan felt like protesting at that. Kurt looked equally annoyed and Nico had stopped laughing, turning to face Artie, an incredulous look on his face.

"Ok who said anything about a gown?" Kurt stated, his arms spreading out to the side, turning his head to face Puck when he stood up and began to walk towards the rest of the group.

"Ok dude, why don't you make yourself useful and go put some rat poison in the old folks Jell-O, or… visit the Garglers."

Ethan frowned, his forehead creasing slightly at that. He knew how it felt to be underappreciated, or just as though you didn't fit in anywhere. He exchanged a look with Nico, who looked equally annoyed, scowling slightly at Puck.

"The Warblers." corrected Kurt.

"Whatever," said Puck carelessly. "Go see what they're up to. You can wear all the feathers you want. You'll blend right in." he said throwing a football to Finn.

Kurt looked at the rest of the group, mouth agape as no one protested. Ethan wanted to, oh he did, but he figured that it would be better to do something later.

"Fine." The others in the group didn't expect that, casting eachother dis-believing looks as Kurt grabbed his scrap book and walked out the room.

Ethan exchanged a look with Nico, before they nodded in unison and followed Kurt.

"Hey! Wait up!" Kurt turned around, eyes blazing. "Look, we-"

"I didn't see you defending me back there!" He looked betrayed. Ethan winced.

"Look, we want to make it up to you, ok?" Nico said, raising both hands in a sign of surrender. "We'll go spy on the Warblers with you, 'kay. It'll be fun, anyway. Much better than hanging out with those guys."

"You were one of our first friends here, Kurt." Ethan added in. "What they said was out of line."

Kurt couldn't help but smile slightly. "Thanks guys, but don't you think three of us going there would be a little…"

"Fine, Ethan can go. I'll stay here."

"Nico!"

The son of Hades merely smirked, crossing his arms triumphantly. Kurt snorted slightly as Ethan pouted, glaring at Nico.

XoooX

Annabeth's first, real interaction with what the glee club did was at lunch.

She recognised the two boys who were singing from Thalia's, admittedly accurate, descriptions.

There was one with glasses, brown hair and a wheelchair; the other had a Mohawk and a guitar. They were busking on the steps. Annabeth wondered if it was even allowed, but she wasn't overly bothered. The music they were making was incredible.

_One love, one heart_

_let's get together and feel all right_

**Hear the children crying **_(One love)_

**Hear the children crying** _(One heart)_

_**Sayin', "give thanks and praise to the **_

_**Lord and I will feel all right."**_

_Sayin'..._

_**"Let's get together and feel all right."**_

_**Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa**_

**Let them all pass all their dirty remarks**

**There is one question I'd really love to ask**

Throughout this, the one with the Mohawk (Puck, if Annabeth remembered correctly) was walking around, getting people to throw money into his guitar case. Artie, the one in the wheelchair, was singing throughout this, remaining in place. Annabeth found herself humming along, whilst Percy got up and threw a few dollars into the guitar case.

_One heart_

_Is there a place for the hopeless sinner,_

_Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own?_

_Believe me_

**One love,** _(What about the One Heart?)_

**One heart** _(What about the love?)_

**Let's get **

_**Together and**_

_**Feel all right**_

**As it was in the beginning** _(One love)_

**So shall it be in the end **_(One heart)_

**Alright! **

_"Give thanks and praise to the lord_ **(Oh!)**

The guitar case was filling up steadily now, more and more people adding money to it. Annabeth figured it was probably because of Puck. He looked rather threatening and not one to get on the bad side of. So, probably people were putting money in there to avoid getting beaten up at a later time.

_**And I will feel all right."**_

_**"Let's get together and feel all right."**_

_One more thing!_

_Let's get together to fight this holy Armageddon _**(One love)**

_So when the man comes there will be no, no doom _

**One song...**

**Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner**

**There ain't no hiding place from the father of creation**

**Sayin...**

_**"One love,**_ **(What about the one heart?)**

_One heart_ **(Oh...)**

_What about..._

_**Let's get together and feel all right.**_

**I'm pleading to mankind** _(One love)_

**Oh, What about the one heart?** _(One heart)_

**Ooooh...**

_"Give thanks and praise to the lord _

_**And I will feel all right." **_**(Yeeah!)**

_**Let's get together and feel all right.**_

Annabeth joined in with the applause and scattered cheering. She joined the remaining stragglers and threw a couple of bucks in, not catching the conversation the two were having as she made her way back to her table. All Annabeth knew now was that her friends must be pretty good singers if they managed to get into this club.

She really must hear them sing at some point.

XoooX

Ethan had managed to nag Fahra into using her magic to make some of his outfits similar to the Dalton uniform.

She had left out certain parts – left out the Dalton logo on the blazer, made the tie black and red and left out the red piping. Ethan had complained that it wouldn't be very good for spying with. Fahra had retaliated with the fact that Kurt probably wouldn't look very much like the rest of the members at Dalton, ending Ethan's complaints.

He and Kurt were currently caught in a sea of students, making their way carefully down a staircase, attempting not to trip over their own feet and break their nose.

"Any idea what's going on?" Ethan hissed. Kurt shook his head in response. "Ask someone will you? Before I break something."

"Of course. Oh, excuse me." The boy at the bottom of the staircase turned, holding what appeared to be a pocket watch in one hand. He let out a smile at the sight of them and Kurt looked slightly flustered. Ethan smirked slightly. "Um, hi. Can I ask you a question? I – I mean, we're new here."

"Thank you for remembering my existence." Ethan sing songed. Kurt shot him a warning glare, which made Ethan cower slightly, before he turned back to the black haired boy, who was smiling now.

"My name's Blaine."

"Kurt, this is Ethan." Kurt absentmindedly gestured in Ethan's direction, taking Blaine's offered hand. "So what exactly is going on?"

"The Warblers!" Blaine's tone sounded more upbeat. It was obvious he enjoyed The Warblers quite a bit. "Every now and then they throw an inpromptu performance in the senior commons. Tends to shut the school up for a while."

"So, wait, the glee club here is kind of cool?" Kurt's tone sounded wistful, almost disbelieving at what Blaine said.

"The Warblers are like rock stars." Kurt's eyebrows raised in slight disbelief. "Come on, I know a shortcut."

"Ok." Blaine dragged Kurt off.

"Oh fine, don't worry about me!" Ethan yelled after them. "I'll just get lost in the crowd of boarding school boys!" He was ignored. Ethan sighed. "What did I do to deserve such great friends? Uh, excuse me!"

He'd managed to snag the sleeve of a tall, blonde boy, who turned and surveyed him with green eyes.

"I was ditched by my friend. I'm new and I have no idea where the senior commons are." Ethan turned his, what Fahra called 'pleading gaze', on full beam. "Help, please?" The boy rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly.

"Fine. I'm Logan."

"Thank you! Oh, and I'm Ethan."

Ethan refused to let go of Logan's sleeve until they were in the commons and Ethan was sure he couldn't get lost. Kurt and Blaine showed up a few minutes later. Ethan shot them both an annoyed glare.

"Thank you sooo much for leaving me to get lost!"

"Sorry. Ooh, I stick out like a sore thumb." Kurt stated, looking nervous.

"Well, next time, don't forget your jacket, new kid." Blaine said good naturedly, tugging on the lapel of Kurt's jacket, smiling slightly. "You'll fit right in. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The Warblers began 'dum dum ing', for a lack of better explanation, to a tune Ethan recognised very well from when Fahra went through her Katy Perry phase. Then Blaine turned and began to sing.

_You think I'm pretty_

_Without any makeup on_

_You think I'm funny_

_When I tell the punch line wrong_

_I know you get me_

_So I let my walls come down, down_

_Before you met me_

_I was alright but things_

_Were kinda heavy_

_You brought me to life_

_Now every February_

_You'll be my Valentine, Valentine_

Ok, was Ethan just imagining it, or was Blaine singing the song, like, directly to Kurt. Because, for the love of Zeus, it sure looked like he was.

_**Let's go all the way tonight**_

_**No regrets, just love**_

_**We can dance, until we die (Until we die)**_

_**You and I, **_

_Will be young forever_

_**You make me feel**_

_Like I'm livin' a_

_**Teenage dream**_

_The way you turn me on_

_**I can't sleep**_

_Let's run away and_

_**Don't ever look back,**_

_**Don't ever look back**_

Tons of people in the room were dancing to the song. Ethan spotted Logan, the boy who showed him there, singing the backing vocals and grinned at him. Logan grinned back.

_**My heart stops**_

_When you look at me_

_**Just one touch**_

_Now baby I believe_

_**This is real**_

_So take a chance and_

_**Don't ever look back,**_

_**Don't ever look back**_

Ethan snorted rather loudly; fortunately it was drowned out by the singing. Blaine seemed to blow 'going slow' right out of the water. With loud, very explosive bombs. He was totally serenading Kurt with Teenage Dream! He was totally going to remember this and use it as blackmail at some point, but then remembered that he probably wouldn't talk to Blaine again. That, for some reason, made him quite sad, but figured that he would talk to him again. These Warblers seemed alright, actually.

_We drove to Cali_

_And got drunk on the beach_

_Got a motel and_

_Built a fort out of sheets_

_I finally found you_

_My missing puzzle piece_

_I'm complete_

_**Let's go all the way tonight**_

_**No regrets, just love**_

_**We can dance, until we die (The Warblers: Until we die)**_

_**You and I, **_

_Will be young forever_

Ethan had no reservations and was dancing, rather rubbishly, next to Kurt. The brunette laughed and Ethan waggled his eyebrows, extending a hand and grabbing Kurt's, getting him to dance a bit before he pulled away, laughing. Ethan shrugged, continuing his dance routine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw he'd garnered some attention from two, blonde twins. He grinned at them and waved. They waved back, identical smirks gracing their faces.

_**You make me feel**_

_Like I'm livin' a_

_**Teenage dream**_

_The way you turn me on_

_**I can't sleep**_

_Let's run away and_

_**Don't ever look back,**_

_**Don't ever look back**_

_**My heart stops**_

_When you look at me_

_**Just one touch**_

_Now baby I believe_

_**This is real**_

_So take a chance and_

_**Don't ever look back,**_

_**Don't ever look back**_

Ethan took his time surveying the Warblers while dancing terribly. He'd seen those two twins, Blaine and Logan, of course. The next one to catch his attention was a rather small one, with curly, strawberry blonde hair. He had a plaster on his cheek and brown eyes. He was smiling, looking as though he was enjoying himself.

_**I'm a get your heart racing**_

_**In my skin-tight jeans**_

_**Be your teenage dream tonight**_

_**Let you put your hands on me **_**(Hands on me)**

_**In my skin-tight jeans**_

_**Be your teenage dream tonight**_

**You make me feel **_(Yeah!)_

**Like I'm livin' a **_(Like I'm livin' a)_

The next two who really grabbed his attention were the Asian and the coloured one. They were standing on either side of Blaine, right at the front, so they weren't hard to miss. They looked as though they were enjoying themselves and seemed to spot who Blaine was singing to. Ethan managed to catch their attention and gestured wildly between Kurt and Blaine, mouthing 'seriously?' in an over exaggerated manner. The two grinned and winked at him.

**Teenage dream **_(Teenage Dream)_

**The way you turn me on**

**I can't sleep **_(I can't sleep)_

**Let's run away and**

_**Don't ever look back,**_

_**Don't ever look back**_

**My heart stops** _(yeah!)_

_When you look at me_

_**Just one touch**_

_**Now baby I believe**_

_**This is real**_

_**So take a chance and**_

_**Don't ever look back,**_

_**Don't ever look back**_

_**I'm a get your heart racing**_

_**In my skin-tight jeans**_

_**Be your teenage dream tonight**_

_**Let you put your hands on me**_

**In my skin-tight jeans**

**Be your teenage dream tonight**

The whole room burst into applause, Ethan letting out a whoop in appreciation. Blaine finished, looking directly at Kurt, as though wanting his approval. The biggest smile Ethan had ever seen crossed his face when Kurt clapped, smiling. Ethan rolled his eyes in unison with the two boys at the front and grinned at them.

He made it his new mission to stay in contact with the Warblers for as long as possible.

XoooX

"Latte?" Ethan realised that maybe, possibly, well, most likely definitely, it was a bad idea to go spying in a school where you would be outnumbered and would probably get beaten up by boys who actually had a good sports education programme.

Not that he didn't, mind you, but he'd rather not freak these kids out with what hand-to-hand combat skills he'd learnt at camp. He took a sip of his coffee, trying his best to avoid eye contact with any of the Dalton boys.

"Thank you." Kurt's reply was quiet, it was as though he had merely mouthed the words. Ethan risked a look upwards and saw he wasn't in danger of being turned to stone if he looked directly into their eyes and did so.

"This is Wes and David." Blaine said, indicating to the two boys sitting either side of him, who raised their hands in greeting. Ethan smiled slightly. They smiled back.

"It's very civilised of you to invite us for coffee before you beat us up for spying." Kurt said.

"Very much so." Ethan stated, inclining his head. "By the way, this coffee is delicious, so would you mind saving the beating up for after I've finished it?"

David laughed at Ethan's comment, before turning to Kurt. "We are not going to beat you up."

"You were such terrible spies, we thought it was sort of endearing." Wes added, grinning. Ethan pouted.

"I thought my disguise was pretty good, actually." He muttered. The son of Nemesis was completely ignored.

"Which made me think that spying on us wasn't really the reason you came." Blaine directed this to Kurt entirely, so Ethan didn't see it fit to make a comment, merely watching with mild interest.

Kurt hesitated slightly, before speaking. "Can I ask you guys a question?" They all nodded slightly. "Are you guys all gay?"

Ethan choked on his coffee whilst the three Dalton boys laughed slightly. Well, that was blunt.

"Uh, uh, no. I mean, I am, but no, these two have girlfriends." Ethan raised an eyebrow. Ah-hah, his suspicions were correct! Blaine was totally serenading Kurt with Teenage Dream!

"This is not a gay school. We just have a zero tolerance harassment policy." David said, smiling.

"Everybody gets treated the same. No matter what they are. It's pretty simple." Wes added.

Ethan found himself thinking wistful thoughts, about being treated the same, despite the fact he was only the son of a minor goddess. Despite the fact he made a mistake when he joined the Titans. He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder and smiled at Kurt. The boy's eyes were slightly red and Ethan immediately knew that something about that sentence had hit home. He looked as though he were about to cry.

"Would you guys excuse us?" Blaine's tone was concerned and Wes and David merely nodded, standing up.

"Take it easy, Kurt." As the two walked away, Ethan made to stand up, but Kurt kept his hand on the boys shoulder.

"Stay." He said. Ethan merely smiled weakly, before retaking his seat and placing a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"I take it you're having trouble at school." Blaine began, sounding as though he recognised the symptoms. Kurt took one more glance at Ethan, who nodded reassuringly, before he started to speak.

"I'm the only person out of the closet at my school. And I tried to stay strong about it, but there's this Neanderthal who's made it his mission to make my life a living hell. And nobody seems to notice." Ethan placed his arm around Kurt's shoulders when his voice began to crack. "At least, not until you showed up, Ethan."

"I didn't do anything." He murmured. "I should have." Kurt placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I know how you feel." The two looked at Blaine, who was surveying them both with calculating, hazel eyes. "I got taunted at my old school, and it really pissed me off. I even complained about it to the faculty. And they were sympathetic and all, but you could just tell that nobody really cared." Ethan winced at that. He was all too familiar with that feeling. "It was like, hey, if you're gay, your life's just gonna be miserable. Sorry. Nothing we can do about it. So I left. I came here. Simple as that. So you have two options. I mean, I'd love to tell you to just come enrol here, but tuition at Dalton's sort of steep, and I know that's not an option for everybody. Or you can refuse to be the victim. Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt"

That phrase. 'Prejudice is just ignorance'. That phrase jolted something inside Ethan and it made him think. Made him think that, maybe the only reason people didn't like him back at camp, was because they ignored what he had been through. When he went back, he decided, he was going to change that. "And you have a chance right now to teach him."

"How?" Kurt asked, staring at Blaine.

"Confront him. Call him out. I ran, Kurt. I didn't stand up. I let bullies chase me away. And it is something that I really, really regret."

And Ethan could see it in Blaine's eyes, the determination that he himself would leave Dalton and charge McKinley if it meant it would keep Kurt safe. Ethan nodded slightly, as though he were agreeing with Blaine. As though he were agreeing that he, too, would do anything to keep the brunet next to him safe.

XoooX

"The boys beat us the last time we competed against them, we've gotta bring the noise hard this time." Mercedes stated, picking something from a box of decorations Tina had supplied for their costumes.

"To be fair, they didn't officially beat up. We got busted for Vitamin D possession before the vote." Quinn said.

"Do we want to know?" Fahra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably not."

"Wait. Something's definitely wrong. Why isn't Rachel talking?" Santana quipped.

"Yeah, she should totally be bossing us around right now." Brittany added, sorting something out with sequins.

"The idea of the assignment was to do the opposite of what we normally do. I'm just trying to stick to the lesson plan, which is proving nearly impossible since you're gluing the sequins on backwards." Rachel said, causing Fahra to roll her eyes. There was a brief silence, until… "Spies!"

Puck and Artie had entered the room. Thalia tilted her head.

"Seriously, Rachel?" She asked rhetorically. "Seriously?"

"Listen to Thals and lighten up! We're here to talk to Santana and Brittany." Puck leant and whispered something to Artie, while Thalia visibly bristled at being called 'Thals'.

"Hmm. So. How does it feel to be a free man?" Santana stared down Artie, raising an eyebrow.

"All I can say is I don't want a long-term relationship with either of you. Especially Brittany since I'm not in love with her."

"So subtle, right?" Thalia muttered to Fahra, who was in a silent fit of giggles.

"Do you guys wanna go out to dinner tonight?" Brittany asked.

"Not really." Puck responded,

"Oh." Santana sounded quite disappointed.

"Tell you what. You two show up at Breadstix tomorrow night around seven, and if we don't find hotter chicks to date tonight, we might show up." Puck said.

"You are totally cool." Santana replied.

"Awesome." Brittany added.

Puck smirked, before wheeling Artie out of the classroom. Fahra, Thalia and Mercedes exchanged disbelieving glances.

"Did you understand any of that?" Fahra questioned.

"Nope." Mercedes replied. Thalia sighed.

"I don't think I want to understand any of that." Thalia said, effectively ending the conversation.

XoooX

Nico wasn't 100% sure on what to expect from the girls performance. He had, after all, only heard Fahra and Thalia sing and from what he'd caught from walking in the corridors, was that neither of them would be singing lead. So, really, he was looking forward to it.

The whole choir room was dark, aside from multi coloured lights. They'd somehow gotten a fog machine (seriously, a fog machine?) and clouds were billowing through the door. Music began playing and the girls began to sing.

_**Start me up**_

_**Start me up**_

They looked the part, wearing leather boots, all very dark colours. Thalia looked very much in her comfort zone, wearing dark eye shadow, her short hair a mess and a smirk on her lips. Fahra was out of her comfort zone, but no one would notice it from first glance, her eyes sparkling energetically, her hair messed up, but the look suited her. Nico saw Kurt beaming at the girls.

_Oh Tommy used to work on the docks_

_Union's been on strike_

_He's down on his luck_

_It's tough_

_Oh so tough._

Rachel had a good voice, Nico admitted. It was no wonder she was mostly chosen for lead vocalist. Though Nico didn't like her ego, her voice was unique.

_**Oh we gotta**_

_**Hold on, ready or not **_

_You live for the fight when that's all that you got_

The boys were rocking out in their seats and Ethan was staring at Fahra. Nico sighed. His friends crush was unbearable and so obvious.

_**Start me up**_

_**We're halfway there**_

_**Oooh Livin' on a prayer**_

_**Start me up**_

_**We'll make it – I swear**_

_**Oooh Livin' on a prayer**_

**If you start me up**

**Kick on the starter give it all you got**

**You got it, you got it**

**I can't compete**

**With the riders in the other heats**

Nico loved Mercedes' voice, more so than Rachel's. The girl's personality was better to. She was a diva, yes, and she liked being in the spotlight, but she wasn't self-centred either.

**Yeah yeah!**

**I'll make a grown man cry**

**I'll make a grown man **

**Give it a shot**

Nico turned to see Kurt put his phone away, a beam on his face. Whatever he had seen, it made the boy happier than he was before. Nico wasn't bothered what it was – he liked Kurt, it was nice to see him smile.

_**Start me up**_

_**We're halfway there**_

_**Oooh Livin' on a prayer**_

_**Start me up**_

_**We'll make it – I swear**_

_**Oooh Livin' on a prayer**_

_Livin' on a prayer_

_**Oh we gotta**_

Hold on, ready or not _**(Ready or not)**_

_You live for the fight when that's all that you got_

_Oooooh, We're halfway there_

**We're halfway there** _**(Oooh, livin' on a prayer!)**_

He girls were milking their performance as best they could, looking sexy as possible. It was the three cheerios who were best at it, though the others weren't doing so bad themselves. Thalia wasn't attempting to look sexy, though, only badass, which was understandable. After all, she was sworn off men for all eternity.

_Take my hand and we'll make it I swear _**(make it I swear )**

_Oooh_

_Livin' on a prayer_

**Start me up** _**(If you start me up I'll never stop)**_

**I'll never stop**

_**Oooh Livin' on a prayer**_

_Take my hand and we'll make it I swear_

**(Livin' on a prayer)**

_Livin' on a prayer_

_We're halfway there_

_**Oooh Livin' on a prayer**_ **(Livin' on a prayer)**

_Take my hand and we'll make it I swear_

**We're almost there**

**We're livin' on a prayer**

_**Living on a prayer**_

_**You got to start me up**_

The people in the choir room clapped as the girls finished and Fahra, as she always did after an adrenaline rush, burst into a fit of hysterical giggles, clutching a panting Thalia for support.

"Ladies, very, very impressive! What made you guys choose those songs?" Mr Schue addressed the panting girls.

"Well-" Rachel started, only to get cut off by a girl in a cheerios uniform.

"Coach said to give you this." She said, before leaving. Mr Schue opened the note the girl had handed him, looking at it in confusion. Nico decided not to question it, and joined in the conversation the glee club were having at the moment.

XoooX

Nico wasn't expecting much when he was walking down the corridors, but when he saw Kurt chasing off after Karofsky, it made him remember what Ethan had told him that morning – about Kurt actually confronting the bully, before pausing and, using his powers, merging into the shadows, unnoticed, before following the boy stealthily through the school.

"I am talking to you!" Nico was in the locker room, watching the confrontation from the safety of his shadows, where no one could touch him.

"Girls locker room's next door." Karofsky said, shoving some stuff into his locker.

"What is your problem?" Kurt yelled, stalking over to him.

"Excuse me?" Karofsky turned, looking him directly in the eye.

"What are you so scared of?"

"'Sides you sneaking in here to peek at my junk?" Nico held back a growl at that comment, remembering that he wasn't supposed to be here. He could only watch and do nothing to retaliate.

"Oh yeah, every straight guy's nightmare, that all us gays are secretly out to molest and convert you. Well guess what, Hammerhawk? You're not my type." Whoo, go Kurt! Nico really wanted to cheer, but held it in.

"That right?"

"Yeah. I don't like chubby boys who sweat too much and are gonna be bald by the time they're thirty." Oooh, you want some aloe for that burn?

"Do not push me, Hummel."

"You gonna hit me? Do it."

"Don't push me!"

"Hit me, 'cause it's not gonna change who I am. You can't punch the gay out of me anymore than I can push the ignormaus out of you."

" Get out of my face!"

"You are nothing but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!"

Nico had to hold back a gasp, a shout, a punch, as Karofsky grabbed Kurt's face and kissed him squarely on the mouth. It wasn't reciprocated, of course it wasn't, and when he leaned in for more, Kurt shoved him away, drawing a hand up to cover his mouth. Karofsky let out an annoyed sound in the back of his throat, hit the lockers and fled the locker room.

Nico was left to only watch as Kurt stood there, looking as though he were about to cry.

XoooX

"Well. I genuinely hope you guys are happy. Because Coach Bieste has quit." Mr Schue started the glee meeting with that, and instantly the whole group stared at him in shock.

"Wait, what? That's terrible." Finn started

"Yeah, it's not what we want." Sam added.

"That's the opposite of what we want, the football team is actually winning." Finished Artie

"Well then you'd better put your heads together and find a way to get her back, fast. Because I am actually ashamed of you. You really hurt someone who was a great addition to this school."

"I'm sorry. What exactly did we do?" Rachel asked.

"No, it's us. The boys." Finn said.

"And Tina." Mike imputed.

"Um, what have I done?" Nico asked, gesticulating wildly to himself.

"Apart from Nico, Ethan and Kurt." Finn said, rolling his eyes, before continuing. "We sort of… figured out that picturing Bieste while making out was even better than a cold shower. I mean I don't, ever."

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry." Quinn said to Sam, looking slightly guilty, but also shocked.

"Can I just say that is what happens when people don't put out. If everyone just put out, we would have a winning football team." Santana said.

"Are you insane or something?" Thalia asked, turning in her seat to face Santana. "I seriously think I need to reconsider why I went here!"

"And I thought the Aphrodite Cabin had sex on the brain." Ethan muttered to Fahra, who let out an amused snort.

The conversations were drawn to a halt as the principal walked into the choir room and spoke.

"William! I need to see you and Noah Puckerman in my office please." Everyone exchanged confused glances, before Puck stood up and, with Mr Schue, left the choir room, effectively ending the glee club's meeting.

XoooX

Ethan really didn't mean to listen in on the conversation. Honestly, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and it was Kurt. And Blaine was there. So he had to listen. He wanted to make sure everything was alright. So, instead of moving down the steps, he remained at the top and listened.

"Excuse me." That was Blaine. Ethan could recognise his voice easily by now. The one who replied was very familiar too, and it made Ethan bristle.

"Hey, ladyboys. This your boyfriend, Kurt?" Ethan was seriously considering punching that guy. Maybe he would at a later date, For now, he listened, which he was very good at.

"Kurt and I would like to talk to you about something."

"I gotta go to class."

"Kurt told me what you did." Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Exactly what Ethan wanted to know. Too bad it was voiced by such a jerk.

"You kissed me." Ethan gasped slightly, but still listened. He didn't think he could interrupt, even if he wanted to.

"I don't know what you're talking about." _Liar_ Ethan thought bitterly.

"It seems like you might be a little confused. And that's totally normal. This is a very hard thing to come to terms with, and you should just know that you're not alone." Ethan was seriously concerned for Blaine's sanity, not to mention his physical well-being when Karofsky shoved him against the chain link fence.

"Do not mess with me!"

"You have to stop this!" Kurt yelled, wrenching the jock away from Blaine. He stared at the two boys, before turning and walking away. There was a few seconds of tense silence, until…

"Well, he's not coming out any time soon." _Brilliant, Blaine, just brilliant!_ Ethan thought sarcastically. _Your assessing skills astound me!_ "What's going on? Why are you so upset?" _Really? Why are you so upset? For a private school boy, you really are stupid._

"Because until yesterday, I had never been kissed. Or at least, one that counted." Kurt said, sounding so utterly downtrodden that Ethan managed to stop criticising Blaine, possibly taking his anger for Karofsky out on the boy, and he took a moment to pray to his mom, hoping that she would help balance Kurt's life out. Currently, it was rubbish, and he deserved a ray of light in it.

"Come on. I'll buy you lunch." Blaine's voice made a smile light up Ethan's face and, silently, he thanked his mother, before he made his way to class.

XoooX

Thalia was seriously looking forward to the boys performance. The girls had totally rocked theirs – there was no way that the boys were going to beat them. Mr Schue had brought the coach along to watch – apparently, this was the boy's way of apologising.

"I don't get it, it's boys against the girls, but what's the winner get?" Bieste asked.

"Well, we were hoping for your forgiveness." Finn said. All the boys wore matching suits, with blue jackets. Thalia smiled, remembering how Nico had complained all morning about the fact that he had to wear one. So typical.

"Yeah. We just want to apologise for hurting your feelings." Sam said.

"Coach Bieste, we think you're awesome. And even though you're all hard and tough on the outside, it doesn't mean you're not the opposite on the inside." Finn added.

"Like a chocolate turtle." Beside her, Thalia felt Fahra burst into a fit of silent giggles.

"Totally. You're nougatty. We totally get that now. You're like a mash-up." Fahra's giggles weren't so silent anymore. It took Thalia a lot of breathing exercises to calm the daughter of Hecate down. Mr Schue let out a sigh.

"Why don't you guys just get to the song."

" Totally. This mash-up is dedicated to you, Coach. Hard and badass on one hand, and soft and girly on the other hand." Artie began.

"We hope it makes you smile, 'cause when you smile you're pretty and it lights up the room. Seriously." Puck said. That was just so unlike Puck to say something like that, that Thalia almost thought some demon had taken over his body or something. Then the music began to play, and the boys began to sing.

_**Here we go!**_

**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart** (_Free your mind_)

**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart**

**Think it over**

I wear tight clothing, high heeled shoes

It doesn't mean that I'm a prostitute no, no

Thalia loved Artie's voice and she was grooving to the music already. Fahra was too, and they both moved in unison.

_I like rap music, wear hip hop clothes._

_That doesn't mean that I'm out sellin' dope, no no, no_

Puck's voice was good too – a lot more raw, but still amazing. She was seriously wondering how on earth they had managed to get into the glee club. The rest of them were so much better then she was!

**Before you can read me you gotta**

**Learn how to see me, I said**

**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart** _(Free your mind)_

**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart**

**Think it over**

All of their voices together were amazing though. They definitely had competition, Thalia admitted. She wasn't too bothered though. She wouldn't mind losing to these guys…much.

_Free your mind and the rest will follow _**(think it over)**

_Be color blind, don't be so shallow_

**I've known of your, your secluded nights**

**I've even seen her maybe once or twice**

Oh, great Sam. Do not use this song as an excuse to flirt with your girlfriend! Sometimes, Thalia wondered why teenagers were so hormonal – she had never felt like that herself. It might have been part of Artemis' blessing, but she wasn't 100% sure. Maybe she should ask Annabeth?

**But is her sweet expression**

**Worth more than my love and affection?**

_Before you can read me you gotta_

_Learn how to see me, I said_

_**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart**_ (Can't stop! Can't stop!)

_**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart**_ (Before you break my heart and stop!)

_**Think it over**_

_**Free your mind and the rest will follow**_

_**Be color blind, don't be so shallow**_ (**Think it over**)

_**Free your mind and the rest will follow**_

_**Be color blind, don't be so shallow**_ (Don't break my, don't break my heart)

_**Stop!**_

_**Stop!**_ (In the name of love)

_**Free your mind**_ (Stop!)

_**Free your mind**_ (Stop!)

Oh free your mind

The boys started to walk over to whoever they were stood in front of. Fortunately, Nico was in front of Thalia – he'd know better than to flirt with her. Ethan was in front of Fahra, and Thalia knew he would use this to his advantage.

Before you can read me you gotta

Learn how to see me, I said

_**Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart**_ (Before you break my heart)

At that, Ethan tapped Fahra's nose. She retaliated by scrunching her nose. Nico and Thalia laughed.

_**Free your mind**_

_**Stop! In the name of love**_ (In the name)

_**Before you break my heart**_ (Of love)

_**Free your mind and the rest will follow**_ (**Stop! In the name of love**) (Oh free your mind)

_**Be color blind, don't be so shallow**_ (**Before you break my heart**) (You got to be!)

_**Free your mind and the rest will follow**_ (**Stop! In the name of love**) (Wo, oh oh!)

_**Be color blind, don't be so shallow**_ (**Before you break my heart**) (Don't break my, don't break my heart)

_**Stop! In the name of love,**_ (You got to stop it, you got to stop)

_**Before you break my heart **_(Don't break my heart) (_Free your mind_)

_**Stop! In the name of love,**_ (Stop! Stop!)

_**before you break my heart**_

_**Oh think it over**_

_**Free your mind**_

_**and the rest will stop!**_

The choir room broke into raucous applause and the boys gathered around Coach Bieste, waiting for her opinion.

"That was really good. I liked it. Thank you." She said, before standing up.

"Come over here! Come on!" Artie stated, before all the guys on the football team gathered around the coach, hugging her. Thalia couldn't help but smile.

She'd realised the group was filled with idiots, and idiots they definitely were. But they were family, and she was honoured to be a part of that.

XoOoX

I hate doing the text for mash ups.

My hand hurts and I'm sleepy and there are probably a million typos, but I don't care too much atm.

I'm making this partially Dalton!verse. Because I love that fanfic so much. If you love Glee and you haven't read it, you must! This story is going to follow the TV series events and the Dalton events at the same time. I'm just debating which Klaine first kiss I should use. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

The songs used in the last chapter were 'Do you want me dead?' by All Time Low, 'My time of dying' by Three Days Grace and 'The Ballad of Mona Lisa' my Panic! At the Disco. Figured you would want to know that. All the songs in this chapter are used in the Glee episode 'Never been kissed'.

There's not a lot of input from my characters yet, but there will be more as I get more comfortable with it, so, yeah.

Hope you enjoyed, and review! ~Jazz


	3. The Substitute (Someone Finds Out)

**I OWN NOTHING! I ONLY OWN FAHRA!**

XoOoX

Thalia rubbed her eyes, trying not to doze off in her seat. She was waiting for Mr Schue to turn up, along with the other members of the glee club. Kurt was vigorously texting, she assumed to Blaine, who Ethan had mentioned that they'd met the previous week while spying at Dalton. Mercedes was sitting next to him, looking rather disgruntled.

The three cheerios were talking to each other in hushed voices, Quinn's arm looped through Sam's, who was talking with the other boys. Tina was sitting with Mike.

The four demigods had gathered together, Ethan and Fahra sorting out some random a cappella arrangement of a song. What song, Thalia didn't know – they were so quiet whilst singing it. Nico was humming absentmindedly, fiddling with the pendant around his neck.

Annabeth had given them the pendants a few days ago, saying that they would dampen their scent from monsters. It wouldn't completely hide it, but it would make it less likely that monsters would smell them. Thalia was relieved – she'd rather not have to kill monsters in the middle of a rehearsal.

Mr Schue walked into the choir room, looking terrible. He turned straight to the whiteboard and began to write something on it.

"All right, guys, um…Time to start thinking about song selections." His voice sounded clogged. Thalia figured he should really go and see the nurse, but Mr Schue didn't show any signs of leaving. When he turned around, his eyes grew wide, his mouth slightly ajar.

Ok, he definitely needed to see the nurse.

"Lookin' good, Puckerman. Someone's been eating their wheaties."

"These guns are fully loaded."

"Mr Schue? I, for one think we should use our set list for sectionals to start exploring the oeuvre of one Bernadette Peters."

"Someday, I'm gonna go to Paris and visit the oeuvre."

"I just want to dance."

Thalia realised, once again, that glee club was full of idiots. Idiots.

"I still question why I am here." Thalia said to herself.

"Mr Schuester, you look a little green." Mercedes said, looking at their teacher, slightly concerned.

"Um… I think I'm gonna go see the nurse." Mr Schue paused for a second, narrowing his eyes slightly, as though trying to stop a headache. "But first I feel like I should get you guys a sitter."

XoooX

Fahra was tailing Kurt and Mercedes, absent mindedly tapping her fingers against the side of her tray as she listened to them talking.

"I'm shaking. And it's either from low blood sugar or rage. I knew it was only a matter of time before Rachel tried to take over the Glee Club." Kurt said. Fahra shuddered slightly, remembering the terror that was Rachel Berry in full control.

"We'll forget all about it tonight at bowling." Mercedes stated.

"Oooh, bowling! Can I come?" Fahra said, jumping between the two, grinning.

"Fahra! Oh my gosh, girl, can you actually announce your presence?" Mercedes asked, staring at the black haired girl with wide eyes.

"I just did." She responded, smiling.

"Sorry, Mercedes, I can't. Blaine asked me to hang out." Kurt responded to Mercedes question, after rolling his eyes at Fahra's response.

"I've been looking forward to it all week." Merecedes sounded downtrodden, before something seemed to glint in her eyes. Fahra was slightly scared of that. "Wait. Are you two going out? Because I think you need to come clean."

"What? No. I don't want another Jesse… Rachel traitor scenario to overcome. Please, Mercedes. Mum's the word."

"Jesse?" Fahra asked, curious.

"Nothing important as of now." Mercedes said. "We'd be happy for you. I mean, we know how lonely you've been."

"Not to mention, according to Ethan's detailed accounts of you spying at Dalton, etcetera, etcetera, that Blaine would probably want to date you." Mercedes looked inquisitive at this. "Apparently, he serenaded you with Teenage Dream."

"Fahra!" Kurt yelped, staring at the smugly grinning demi-god. "He did not, and besides, we just hang out. Nothing about glee club even ever comes up. It's just nice to have someone to talk to."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mercedes asked, tone slightly indignant. Fahra had realised that she had taken it the wrong way immediately, and sighed.

"I mean someone like me. But I promise to make it up to you. We'll hang out Friday night." Kurt replied, sighing slightly. Mercedes seemed to zone out for a bit, before cutting into the queue further up, getting some tater tots. Kurt and Fahra followed.

"So what are we going to do about glee club while Mr Schue is sick?" Mercedes asked. Fahra zoned out after that.

To be honest, as long as Rachel wasn't in charge, she couldn't care less what they did about the club.

XoooX

"Puck, what, exactly, are you doing?" Thalia knelt on the floor next to the boy, who was spreading…was that butter? Over the floor.

"Kurt got us a substitute, so I'm buttering the floor." Puck explained, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Yes, the entirety of glee club is, actually, insane!" Thalia exclaimed, in mock triumph.

"But sectionals is, like, two weeks from now." Finn argued with Puck, looking disgruntled.

"Hey, Gigantor. We're all gonna swap names, yo." Artie said, grinning, Mercedes and Tina laughing.

"Honestly? You are acting like five year olds." Thalia stated, standing up next to Puck.

"Um, did I hear something about a substitute?" Rachel asked, before slipping on the buttered floor and crashing to the ground. Some people winced. Thalia muffled a giggle behind her hand.

"Yes! It works!"

"Well, at least I didn't fall and break my talent. I'm fine." Rachel assured everyone, while Mercedes, Tina and Artie were laughing.

Thalia almost pitied the poor substitute who had to take over from Mr Schue. That was until Miss Holliday (she'd had her for Spanish) slid across the floor elegantly.

"Oh, what the hell?" Artie commented.

"Hola, clase. Nothing says "bienvenidos" quite like a buttered floor." Kurt had followed Miss Holliday and, unlike her, slipped on the buttered floor. Some people winced. Puck stared. Thalia kicked him in the shin and helped Kurt up. "Let's start with some introductions. My name is Holly Holliday. What's yours? Go."

"I'm Finn Hudson. I'm quarterback of the football team." Puck said, putting on some weird voice. Thalia rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm Rachel Berry, his loud, loud girlfriend." Santana said.

"I'm Mike Chang." Brittany said, Mike nodding slightly. Fahra, meanwhile, was giggling like a maniac, Nico and Ethan attempting to calm her down. Thalia let out an amused snort.

"Those aren't your names. You know why I know that?"

"You're psychic?"

"I know this because I recently watched a video of you guys performing at regionals, where you came in last. Maybe it's because the songs were about 30 years old, but…"

"Those songs are classics." Finn protested.

"What songs?" Thalia couldn't help ask.

"Journey." Kurt supplied.

"Oh."

"Those songs are amazing." Holly assured Finn. "But they sounded like somebody else's favourite songs. Not yours. Just sayin'."

"She speaks the truth." Brittany announced.

"I'm not your average, run-of-the-mill substitute teacher. I want you guys to do things that you want to do. I want you to have fun in our fabulous but fleeting time together. What do you say we have class outside today?"

"It's raining outside." Mercedes inputted.

"Which means it's cold. Fahra no like the cold."

"Fahra, will you shut up?" Nico asked. Fahra mimed zipping her lips up.

"Well, then let's take a field trip to taco bell." Holly said.

"Oh, yeah!" Brittany said over the sounds of people laughing.

"Should we take up some medical-grade marijuana? I wish." The laughing increased. Thalia realised, once again, she had joined a school full of crazy people. She wondered why she wasn't regretting it at all.

"It's really hard not to like this woman." Finn stated.

"Okay, no. We can't just goof off all day. We have to write a set list for sectionals." Rachel said and Thalia, to her horror, found herself agreeing.

"You're right. What songs would you like to do?" Everyone stared, mouths slightly open. "Oh. Don't get asked that question much, do we?"

"Miss Holliday is right. Mr Schuester's set list sometimes seems like he hasn't listened to the radio since the '80s." Kurt said.

"Never liked the '80s." Thalia added, pulling a face.

"He never listens to what I have to say." Puck stated. "I wanted to do Cee-Lo."

"Cee-Lo! That's what I'm talking about." Holly stated. Everyone began to cheer.

"Snap. Okay, excuse me? What would you know about Cee-Lo? 'Cause you're like, 40." Santana stated.

"And Nico's, like, 70." Fahra whispered to Ethan, who began to laugh. Nico glared at the both of them.

"Top 40, sweet cheeks. Hit it!"

_I see you drivin' 'round town_

_With the guy I love, and I'm like,_

_Forget you!_

_Oo, oo, ooo_

Holly was good. The song was upbeat, definitely Thalia's style. The cheerios sang the 'oo' part in it.

_I guess the change in my pocket_

_Wasn't enough I'm like,_

_Forget you _

_Oo, oo, ooo_

_Yeah I'm sorry,_

_I can't afford a Ferrari,_

_But that don't mean I can't get you there._

Holly sang this, walking around the three of them who were still stood up, that being Thalia, Puck and Finn, before walking between Finn and Puck heading towards the chairs. Thalia let out a laugh at the look of disbelief on Puck's face, tapping her foot to the beat.

_I guess she's a Xbox and I'm more an Atari,_

_But the way you play your game ain't fair._

_I pity the fool that falls in love with you_

Kurt got up and began dancing with Holly. Thalia ran over and joined in, laughing.

_Oh shhh she's a gold digger_

Fahra was now joining in the backing vocals with the three cheerios, who had dragged her from her chair and onto the floor.

_Well_

_Just thought you wanna know it_

_Ooooooh I've got some news for you_

_Yeah go run and tell your little girlfriend_

Everyone was up and dancing by now, loving the more upbeat tone to the song. Well, everyone aside Rachel, who was being moody and glaring at Holly from her seat.

_I see you driving 'round town_

_With the guy I love and I'm like,_

_Forget you!_

_Oo, oo, ooo_

_I guess the change in my pocket_

_Wasn't enough I'm like,_

_Forget you and forget him too,_

_I said, if I was richer, I'd still be with ya_

_Ha, now ain't that some shhhh?_

_ain't that some shhhh?_

_And although there's pain in my chest I still wish you the best with a..._

_Forget you!_

_Oo, oo, ooo_

Everyone had returned to their seats by now, and Mercedes and Artie went up to the floor and began to sing.

_Now, baby, baby, baby, why you wanna wanna hurt me so bad?_

_So bad, so bad, so bad_

_I tried to tell my mamma but she told me "this is one for your dad"_

_Your dad, your dad, your dad_

_Oh yes she did_

_Uh! Whhhy? Uh! Whhhy? Uh! Whhhy baby? Oh!_

_I love you oh! I still love you._

_Holly with New Directions:_

_I see you driving 'round town_

_With the guy I love and I'm like,_

_Forget you!_

**Forget you, yeah**

_Oo, oo, ooo I guess the change in my pocket_

_Wasn't enough_

**Uuh**

_I'm like,_

_Forget you and forget him to_

**Oh, baby**

_I said, if I was richer,_

_I'd still be with ya_

**Yeah you!**

_Ha, now ain't that some shhhh?_

_ain't that some shhhh?_

**Oooo whoah**

_And although there's pain in my chest I still wish you the best_

**Wish you the best**

_With a..._

_Forget You!_

**You ooh, ooh, ooo.**

Everyone finished, laughing and clapping, aside from Rachel who was still moping.

"Let's go get some tacos!" Holly yelled, causing everyone to cheer some more and, effectively, ending the glee clubs meeting.

XoooX

"Oh, we have to get there early on Friday. It's league night for little people, and they'll buy up all the small shoes if they get there first." Nico heard Mercedes as he was walking into lunch, and spotted her with Kurt. He'd lost Fahra, Ethan, Thalia, Annabeth and Percy a while back, so decided to join them for lunch.

"Oh, I totally forgot. Greg Evigan is starring in rent at the community playhouse, and Blaine got us tickets." Kurt said apologetically to Mercedes, before spotting Nico. "Oh, hi Nico." Mercedes didn't acknowledge his presence."

""Us" as in all of us?"

"I think he could only score two."

"Just so you know, I'm actually here." Nico waved absently, before spotting the cheerios, who were removing trays of tater tots. "Hey, what's going on?" That caught Mercedes' attention.

"Wait. Where do you think you're going with those?"

"Principal Sue banned the tots." Santana stated.

"She can't do that!" Mercedes protested.

"Actually, she can." Nico muttered, earning him a glare from Mercedes.

"They look like deep-fried deer poop." Brittany added.

"Take it up with principal Sue." Santana said, before tipping the whole tray of tots into the bin.

"Well, that's a waste of food." Nico said sullenly, watching as all the tots were thrown away.

"We'll get you some-some…" Kurt attempted to console Mercedes, who held up her hand telling him to shut up. "Okay."

"Why do I have a feeling this is going to end badly?" Nico asked himself, before sighing and leaving the two.

XoooX

"Hello, I'm joining you two for lunch and don't even bother protesting because I won't listen." Fahra slammed her tray on the table and sat down, prodding the new food with her fork. "Is this even edible?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure." Kurt said, looking at the plate. "It looks like toothpaste."

"Principal Sylvester's only serving pre-digested food now to give us more energy. I mean, do I look like a damn baby bird?" Mercedes ranted, whereas Fahra pulled a disgusted face, pushing her tray away.

"I'd rather starve then eat that." She stated.

"Don't fret your culinary disappointments. I come bearing gifts." Kurt said cheerily.

"You brought tots?"

"Edible food!"

"Better. I've set you up on a date. I get it. My new budding friendship with Blaine is making you feel left out, jealous." Kurt said to Mercedes.

"Who's the guy?" Mercedes said monotonously. Fahra frowned slightly

"Anthony Rashad."

Fahra and Mercedes turned to see a guy, who smiled at Mercedes. The girl waved back, before turning back to Kurt, her bitch face in place.

"Why him?"

"No reason."

"Oh, so it has nothing to do with the fact that he's one of the five black guys at this school?" Fahra winced.

"Uh, no, he is a wide receiver on the football team, he is very good-looking, and he is a member of the black student union."

"Any non-black activities?"

"I don't know… my Google search was a little…"

"Honestly, Kurt. Sometimes, you lose me completely." Fahra stated.

"I can't take this anymore." Mercedes said.

"Mercedes, trust me, love is just around the corner." Kurt said. At the end of that sentence, Karofsky walked by.

"What's up, homo?" He said. Fahra seethed and made to go and beat him up, before she was pulled back into her seat by Kurt.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Mercedes said, but Kurt wasn't paying attention, watching Karofsky with worried eyes. Fahra frowned – something was wrong, and she wanted to know what.

"Tots!" Some random girl yelled and Kurt jumped violently.

"Oh, my God!"

"Tots! Tots! Tots! Tots! Tots! Tots!" The entire canteen began to shout.

"All I want is edible food!" Fahra said, before banging her head against the table, groaning.

XoooX

"Hey, Nakumura!" Ethan jumped out of his skin and turned, only to be cornered by Dalton Academy boys. In a mall. In Ohio.

"You guys aren't gonna kill me for last week, right? 'Cause, I swear, I haven't told the New Directions anything!"

"Chill, dude." David held up his hands, as though proving his innocence. "We are not going to kill you. Promise. Just figured we'd say hi."

"No offence, but I know, like, two of you." Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Where's Blaine?"

"Rabbit is looking after the Windsor house." One of the blonde twins said.

"But the real question is"

"Why are you here?"

"Ok, that is just creepy. Are you, like, channelling Travis' and Connor's spirits or something? 'Cause they always do that." The twins snickered.

"Think of them as one person." The smallest boy said, smiling sheepishly. "It's a lot easier on the mind. I'm Reed. They're Ethan and Evan…not sure which one's which."

"You wound us, Reed!" The two said in unison, placing their hands on their chests and gasping. Ethan blinked.

"Okay, there are two Ethans here." The demi-gods trail of thought was cut off as Fahra skipped over, humming a really familiar tune.

"I got you a pretzel!" She trilled in the tune, handing it over. "Thalia and Nico are still deciding and hello boys, 'suming you're Dalton-ers. Is that even a word?" Fahra finished the rest of the sentence in a speeded up version of the tune.

"Talking flower." The twins said, staring wide eyed.

"Oooh, Alice fans!" Fahra clapped her hands happily. "I'm guessing you're the Tweedles? Oh, sorry. I'm Fahra Swift."

"Oh, I'm Wes Hughes, This is David Sullivan." David raised a hand in greeting.

"I'm Reed Van Kamp." Fahra's eyes grew wide at that.

"Oh my gods, no way! Not, like, Hilde Van Kamp's son? Her designs are amazing!" Fahra gushed. Reed laughed slightly.

"Yup, that's my mom. This is Ethan, and that's Evan…I think."

"You thought incorrectly, Dormouse." One of the blond twins shot Reed a grin. "Anyway, back to business. Why are you not in lessons, Rose?"

"Rose? Ok, I can live with that." Fahra shrugged. "We have a sub for glee club, so Ethan, Thals, Nico and I decided to ditch it for the mall. Rach'll have a fit, but meh." She shrugged.

"What song were you humming earlier?" Ethan asked, running a hand through his black hair. "It's familiar."

"It would be, oh forgetful one." Fahra ruffled his hair, causing the son of Nemesis to pout. "I sung it to piss off Annabeth, remember? I like it like that, Hot Chelle Rae?"

"I love that song!" Other Ethan said.

"Same! You have good taste in music, Rose." Evan added.

"I like it like that…" Fahra sang quietly and the twins turned to Wes, eyes wide.

"March Hare, can we sing with her?"

"Rose has such a pretty voice…"

"Please?"

Fahra had joined in at the end. Wes smiled.

"Well, we are Windsors…spontaneity is sort of in our contract."

The Tweedles let out a whoop of triumph, while Fahra clapped happily.

"Ok, Ethan, I assume you have my iPod." Ethan grinned, before pulling out said iPod, taking out the ear buds, turning the volume up full and playing the track.

**Fahra Swift, Dalton Boys**

Ethan stifled a laugh as the twins introduced the act similar to how New Boyz did in the original. Fahra rolled her eyes at the attention now garnered, before pushing the twins to the side and beginning to sing the opening verse.

_Let's get it on, yeah, y'all can come along_

_Everybody drinks on me, bought out the bar_

_Just to feel like I'm a star, now I'm thanking the academy_

The moves used were simple, but effective and easy to follow, which meant the twins could easily keep up with the moves. Surprisingly, the song tone was suitable for Fahra, but it might be because it didn't have a specific key it needed to be sung in.

_Missed my ride home, lost my iPhone_

_I wouldn't have it any other way_

_If you're with me let me hear you say_

_**I like it like that!**_

Fahra fist pumped the air, along with the Tweedles, effectively catching the attention of anyone who wasn't paying attention before. Some had brought phones out and were filming the impromptu performance. Nico and Thalia had managed to re-join the group.

"What the…wait, I don't want to know." Nico said exasperatedly, Thalia merely jamming along to the beat. A boy had joined the remaining Warblers. He was gaunt and pale faced, with black hair. He was eying Fahra suspiciously and when his brown eyes caught Ethan's, the demi-god felt a chill up his spine. He made a mental note to tell Annabeth about this later.

For now, he just enjoyed the performance.

_**Hey windows down, chillin' with the radio on**_

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Damn, sun's so hot, **_**make the girls take it all off**

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Yeah, one more time, I can never get enough,**_

_**Oh, everybody**_

_**Sing it right back, I like it like that!**_

_**(I like it like that, I like it like that)**_

_Till the break of the dawn, yeah, party on my lawn_

_Whistle as the girls walk by if the cops roll up __**(so what?)**_

_Pour the cops a cup cause everybody's here tonight_

_Call a taxi, pack the back seat_

_I wouldn't have it any other way_

_If you're with me let me hear you say_

The rest of the Warblers began to join in with the chorus, laughing along with Thalia, who Wes had dragged over with them. Nico rolled his eyes, before joining in, standing next to Reed, following what moves he was doing. Ethan grinned madly.

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Hey windows down, chillin' with the radio on**_

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Damn, sun's so hot, **_**make the girls take it all off**

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Yeah, one more time, I can never get enough**_

_**Oh, everybody,**_

_**Sing it right back, I like it like that!**_

_**Oh oh oh oh, **__like that_

_**Oh oh oh oh, **__like that_

_**Oh oh oh oh, **__sing it right back, I like it like that_

**Oh the homie brought the booze**

**I like it like that cause the girls playin' beer pong in the back**

**We havin' fun partying til the break of dawn**

**Go grab a cup I dunno what people waitin' on**

**And I'm gonna want a girl that I know I can take home**

**In the zone, where I think I had lost my phone**

**You can tell by looking in the party's straight crack**

**And don't worry 'bout it girls cause I like it like**

Ethan assumed it was Evan who rapped that part, surprisingly accurate to how the original was rapped. His twin took over the second part. A few random shoppers had dropped their bags, dancing randomly to the song.

**I'm max faded at my grandma's house**

**And leave your clothes over there, that's grandma couch**

**I be filmin' her friends too, yeah I'm back on that**

**Double D chicks huggin', I got racks on racks**

**Like, I don't want the luxuries of a superstar**

**I'm just tryin' to chill with Miley at the hookah bar**

**You like cartoons? I'll make your heart melt**

**With the seat back, playin in the back, like**

_I like it like that!_

_Hey windows down, chillin' with the radio on_

_I like it like that!_

_Damn, sun's so hot, make the girls take it all off_

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Yeah, one more time, I can never get enough**_

_**Oh, everybody**_

_**Sing it right back, I like it like that!**_

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Hey windows down, chillin' with the radio on**_

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Damn, sun's so hot, make the girls take it all off**_

_**I like it like that!**_

_**Yeah, one more time, I can never get enough**_

_**Oh, everybody**_

_**Sing it right back, I like it like that!**_

_**Oh oh oh oh like that**_

_**Oh oh oh oh like that...**_

_**Oh oh oh oh everybody, sing it right back, I like it like that**_

They finished with a huge cheer, before bursting into laughter, Fahra flinging both arms around the twins. The gathered crowd clapped, before dispersing, talking about what they had done.

"It was a pleasure working with you, Tweedles. Oh, and the rest of you guys." Fahra winked at Reed, who spluttered slightly, before laughing along with the girl, who separated from the twins and wrapped an arm around Ethan's shoulders. "We so need to do that again."

"Next time, with Blaine." Reed agreed. "Or just all the Warblers. Like, after Sectionals or something."

"Totally, Dormouse." Fahra held out a fist, tapping it against both of the Tweedles'. "But, for now, we really should get back to school before Annabeth realises we ditched – seriously, she'll kill us."

The two groups said goodbye and parted. Well, all apart from the boy who had joined later on. He just watched the four kids from McKinley, his eyes following them until they were lost in the crowd.

"C'mon Dwight." Reed said, grabbing the boy's lower arm. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Dwight shook his head. "Did you think that there was something…strange about those four?"

"No. Why?"

"No reason." Dwight shrugged it off, before following Reed, thinking about the strange sense of power he felt emitting from the four teenagers they had just met.

XoooX

Thalia wasn't expecting much from glee club today. She'd been dragged into the empty seat next to Puck by the person himself, ignoring Fahra's snickers. Thalia was considering ditching again, until Mr Schue walked in through the door and, on complete impulse, the entire club stood up and began to cheer and clap.

"All right, all right, thank you very much, guys. Please, please, sit down." They did so, Thalia grinning like mad. "Just… Thank you… For that and… and for all the kind words you said about me to Sue. The feelings are mutual. Now, we got to get crackin', though. We lost a few days there, and it's all gonna be about focus and hard work for the next couple of days."

"I guess Miss Holliday really is gone." Puck sounded downtrodden. Thalia patted his back in mock sympathy, ignoring the look he shot her.

"I know you guys liked her, and she was a lot of fun, but she and I both agreed that this is what was best." Mr Schue said, Tina speaking up after him.

"Don't get us wrong, Mr Schue, we always wanted you as our teacher. She was just kind of a nice break."

"She did loosen us up." Quinn supplied.

"And she actually had some good ideas for a sub." Artie added.

"Yeah. I get it. And maybe we can, uh, incorporate those… after sectionals."

"For sectionals would be better – those Warblers are good." Thalia muttered.

"How'd you know that?" Puck asked her in a whisper.

"When we ditched the other day, they put on a show with Fahra."

"Ok…"

"Now, when I'm sick, there is only one thing that makes me feel better." Mr Schue said in a loud voice, interrupting Thalia and Puck's conversation.

"Gin and juice." Artie said.

"No. Singin' in the rain. I must've watched it, like, ten times over the past three days. It's actually what inspired me to try this out as a contender for our first song at sectionals."

"I like singing in the rain." Fahra mused. "It sounds romantic – like, kissing in the rain."

"It's a musical, Fahra."

"I know, Nico! Sheesh, I'm not stupid!"

"When is the song from?" Sam put a stop to Nico and Fahra's spat.

"Well, the movie opened in 1952." No one looked really enthusiastic. Thalia realised it was brought out only a decade after Nico was born, which was actually a scary thought, considering he was still in high school. "But-but… but it's… But it's really timeless." Mr Schue still hadn't garnered any support from the club and sighed, seemingly defeated.

XoooX

"Woo, that was fun!" Fahra yelled, dancing out of the auditorium, the members of glee laughing at her.

"Fahra, did you get into Percy's cookie stash or something?" Thalia asked, jokingly, only to stare as Fahra pulled out a Tupperware box full of cookies. "You did…wow."

"Are they blue?" Santana asked, looking at them sceptically.

"Yes, they are." Fahra chimed. "Don't worry, they're edible. Just, y'know, blue." As though to prove her point, she pulled one out and bit into it, chewing on it thoughtfully. She swallowed, before holding out the open box to the rest of the club. "Here you go – it's on Percy."

"He'll kill you." Ethan said idly, taking a cookie along with the other members.

"I know." Fahra said, tucking the box away in her bag. "It'll wear off soon enough."

"Oh my gosh, these cookies are amazing!" Mercedes said, staring at what cookie she had in her hand. "Where did he get these from?"

"His mom makes them." Nico said. "Sally's amazing. She lives in New York, so we don't get them often." Rachel's attention perked as soon as New York was mentioned.

"Why don't you live in New York, then?" Quinn asked. Fahra bit her lip, Ethan gulped and Thalia stared slightly.

"Annabeth – Percy's girlfriend – said that we should stay in Ohio for now. NY is big and would probably give us high hopes or whatever." Nico said smoothly. "Plus, her dad lives in Ohio. Our parents are too busy to really look after us well."

"My dad died of cancer when I was eight." Fahra pointed out.

"My father is who knows where." Ethan added.

"My mom died in a drunken driving accident." Thalia supplied. Everyone stared at how calmly they announced that.

"And my mom is also dead." Nico waved it off. "Anyway, Percy couldn't bear to be separated from his 'darling Annabeth' and followed us here. The end."

"Oh-kaaay, I guess that makes sense." Sam said, before linking arms with Quinn. "Breadstix?"

"Let's go!" Finn said, before racing off, the rest of the club following, the four demi-gods coming up at the rear.

"Good thinking there, Nico." Thalia said. "That was a close call."

"Yeah, well, you've got to come up with ideas too – we can't blow our cover!" Nico hissed back.

"Chill, it was unexpected." Ethan said. "We'll be prepared next time."

"You better be." Nico said, before they sped up to catch up with the rest of the club.

They thought they'd gone unheard. What they missed was the director of their glee club collapsing into one of the chairs in the auditorium, staring in disbelief at the now empty stage.

XoOoX

Blargh, not impressed with this, but I wanted to get it done.

I finally got the guts to watch the break-up. And cried. Soooo much. I won't say what happens, 'cause I doubt everyone's watched it, but I'm holding onto small glimmers of hope and all that jazz.

Introduced to Dalton characters, property of the amazing CP Coulter, and people are figuring out their secrets rather quickly, but Dwight figuring it out so soon is for a good reason, I swear.

I'm going to have Puck/Thalia friendship/possible crush throughout this fic, for no other reason than the fact that I keep imaging Puck and Thalia scenarios and now I ship their friendship soooo hard.

Anyway, that is all. For now. Love you all if you review ~ Jazz xx


	4. Furt (Fahra visits Warblerland)

"…And that's all for this time, guys! You all can head out and plan something to sing at the wedding – apart from Fahra, Nico, Thalia and Ethan. Can you stay behind for a while?"

Thalia's head jolted up at the mention of her name and furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Why did Mr Schue want to see them? Puck, who had been sitting next to her, put a hand on her shoulder and grinned.

"We still on for the Lima Bean at five?" He asked.

"I never agreed to that." Thalia replied blandly, before sighing. "But whatever. I'll go if you're paying."

"It's a date." Puck strode away.

"Is not a date!" Thalia called after him, sighing in exasperation as Puck merely laughed and Finn high fived him. "He's such a moron."

"He likes you though." Fahra commented idly, toying with the pendant around her neck. "It's obvious. Anyway, Mr Schue – what did you want to talk to us about?"

The teacher pulled a wooden chair close to him and sat down on it, surveying the small group with brown eyes. Thalia found herself recognising those eyes…eyes which seemed clear as anything…

"I heard you talking after our performance the other day." The four exchanged glances.

"Sir, I'm afraid you'll have to be more…clear." Ethan said, tilting his head, obviously confused.

"Outside the auditorium." Thalia sucked in a sharp breath.

"If this is about me stealing cookies, I swear, it was a onetime thing." Fahra held up her hands in defence, though her worried gaze flickered over to Nico's stiff form. _Please let that be it…_

"You were talking about a cover." The four froze, stock still, Fahra's arms dropping to her sides. Mr Schue's eyes hardened. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing!" Thalia practically yelped, common sense flying out the window. She had successfully blown their cover.

"I'm afraid your answer there proves that you are hiding something." The Spanish teacher smiled. "Care to share?"

"It's not that we don't want to." Nico spoke up; his eyes narrowed, a frown on his face, as though he was trying hard to figure out how to phrase his answer. "We'd love to – but we can't."

"May I ask why?"

"You'd think we were insane." Fahra answered, before considering her words and laughing. "Not that we aren't or anything, but this kind of insane would probably get us sent to a mental hospital."

Thalia could practically see the gears turning in Mr Schue's head, as though he was debating something, before he leant forward and spoke.

"What if I told you something that many people would consider insane? Would you tell me then?"

"That depends on what it is you tell us." Nico replied carefully. "But, yes, most likely."

"I've seen…things while walking around here. Things which aren't supposed to be real." The four exchanged glances, eyes wide. No way. "Things from Greek Mythology."

"Well, that makes things much easier." Ethan said, letting out a sigh.

"What you are seeing, sir, are actual Greek monsters." Fahra added, without any tact. Mr Schue raised an eyebrow.

"You are not getting out of it that easily."

"We aren't trying to." Nico explained, before sighing. It appears as though we will have to show you – Fahra?"

"My pleasure." The daughter of Hecate grinned, before snapping her fingers and dissolved into nothing. Their teacher let out a yelp, nearly falling off his chair in shock.

Fahra had been practicing that technique for a while. At first, she could only make her body invisible, so she walked down to breakfast one morning, her clothes floating in mid-air, before realising she couldn't become visible. She had to take the day off school, of course, and spent the entire day practicing, before something seemed to click and it worked. She hadn't stopped gloating when they got back, after successfully scaring Ethan half to death.

Fahra then materialised beside Ethan's chair.

"You see why, if we said it, you would think us insane?" Thalia said and their teacher nodded.

"But…how?"

"We are…um, half-bloods." Ethan said. Mr Schue looked at him in a continue kind of fashion. "Half human, half…well, god." Mr Schue's eyebrows threatened to leave his forehead.

"Impossible."

"Ah, but it is." Nico said, sounding very proud of himself. "You see, the gods – that's plural, by the way – move with the heart of the west, and currently it is in America. Annabeth could probably explain this easier, but she isn't here at the moment. This world is obscured to mortals by a veil called the Mist. You can see through the Mist, and that is why you keep seeing monsters."

"This is insane."

"But it's plausible." Thalia quipped. "As it seems that there is no better explanation. Plus, my dad doesn't like being called 'insane'."

"He nearly blew Percy up for claiming that he was fake." Fahra pointed out.

"Ah, yes. Good times, good times."

"And your father is?"

"Zeus, god of thunder and all that jazz. Technically, I'm also the Lieutenant of Artemis, which means I'm immortal and that Puck's attempts at flirting are going to fail, because I am sworn off men for all eternity." Thalia fixed Fahra with an icy stare. Mr Schue let out a breathy laugh, as though he was still trying to work out what was going on.

"Whatever, Pinecone Face." Thalia scrunched up her nose. "I'm a daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic, hence the vanishing act."

"Son of Hades, Lord of the Underworld."

"And dead people."

"Fahra, quit ruining the mood!"

"Sorry."

"Ignore them." Thalia advised their teacher, who was watching the two banter with mild confusion. "They do this a lot."

"I'm a son of Nemesis, goddess of balance."

"And getting back at bad people."

"What is with you today?" Nico asked sceptically. Fahra shrugged.

"I felt like insulting both of your parents indirectly."

"Dad will kill you." Nico warned.

"I know." Fahra grinned. "Well, I'm off – need to make sure Hades doesn't kill me. Toodles!" She skipped out of the room. Mr Schue stared blankly after her.

"Does she have a death wish?" He asked.

"Probably." The three chorused in unison.

XoooX

"Hello Rose."

"How did you get my address?" Fahra leant against the doorframe, looking at the identical twins standing on the doorstep, grins on their faces.

"We have our ways…" Ethan (she thought it was Ethan) said. "Where's other me, Nico and Thalia?"

"Should I be honoured I'm the only one who has a nickname?" Fahra snorted. "And they're out – Nico and Ethan are doing some sort of crap with Sam and Thalia got dragged off by Puck. Why?"

"Want to visit Warblerland, Rose?" They asked in unison. Fahra tilted her head.

"You mean Dalton?"

"Yes, dearest flower." Evan said, smiling cheekily.

"So? Is your answer yes, or yes?" Ethan added. Fahra sighed.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

OxxxO

Logan expected many things from the twins. He expected to slip on buttered floors, to sit in an unscrewed seat, to have his coffee messed with, even having his dorm room covered with pictures of the Knave from Alice in Wonderland.

He most certainly did not expect them to show up to Warbler practice with a girl.

"It's like an all-male Hogwarts." She said in awe, spinning around the common room with a dazed look on her face, completely oblivious to the stares she was getting.

"Ethan. Evan." The names were sharp and came from Blaine. "How, exactly, did you get her in here?"

"We have our ways…" The said in unison.

"They said that to me when I asked them how they got my address." The girl chipped in helpfully, coming to a standstill. Logan took in her appearance – long, curly black hair falling to her mid back, dark blue eyes and fairly tanned skin. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, red converse and a bright orange top. The writing on it read 'camp half-blood'. Logan didn't understand what, exactly, it meant. He figured it was a fan base thing, thus didn't question it. "I'm Fahra Swift. You came into contact with my best friend, Ethan, at some point. Some of you Warbler's know who I am – hey Reed!" Fahra waved at the blond boy, who grinned shyly back. "Oh, and Wes, David." The two boys rolled their eyes in unison.

"Sorry, but you can't stay here." Blaine said. The Tweedles let out whines, shutting up when the Warbler raised a hand. "Harvey and Medel will be here-"

"Now." Everyone turned to the door, to see both of their teachers there, both looking rather amused. "Explain, please. I'd rather not have any of you expelled for sneaking her in here."

"I came in willingly, actually." Fahra piped up. "I'm Fahra and the Tweedles thought it would be fun to drag me here for Warbler practise 'cause they like my singing voice. Did I mention this school looks like Hogwarts? 'Cause it does. I feel like I've stepped into Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or something." Harvey blinked.

"Now I know why you liked her." Logan sighed, putting his head in his hand. Ethan and Evan merely grinned.

"Can we keep her?"

"I'm not a bird or whatever!" Fahra retorted. Everyone snorted. "What?"

"We actually have a bird." David explained. Fahra blinked.

"You guys are so weird."

"And you're not."

"Touché."

"Fine. Fahra, you may stay for the practice. ONLY the practice." Harvey emphasized when the twins looked ready to protest.

"But we wanted to show the Knight Rose." Evan said.

"He would love her. And probably spray her with holy water." Ethan added. Fahra opened her mouth, before closing it, shaking her head and taking the empty space next to Logan. The boy held out a hand.

"I'm Logan Wright."

"You know me, already. Pleasure to meet you." Fahra took the hand, shook it and smiled. "I didn't see you when we had our impromptu performance, though."

"What? You know, never mind. I'm not in Windsor." He explained. "We're split into three houses and day students. The houses are Windsor, Stuart and Hanover. I'm in Stuart."

"Ah, that makes sense." Fahra nodded gratefully, before returning her attention to the rest of the group.

The meeting carried on as it normally did, though they didn't discuss set lists, mainly having a few song suggestions. Whenever anyone looked at Fahra, worried, she assured them that she wouldn't steal their songs.

"We'll beat you fair and square." She said as a way of explanation.

Harvey warmed to her rather quickly after that.

Before the session wrapped up, Logan couldn't help but make a request.

"Since you've heard some of us sing." He was referring to Blaine's earlier performance of Katy Perry's The One That Got Away. "Why don't you show us what you've got?"

"Yeah, Rose!" The Tweedles said in unison. "You're amazing! Please!"

"If that's ok with you two…" She looked to Harvey and Medel, who merely nodded their assent, smiling encouragingly. "Alright, then. Hmm…let's see – oooh, I like this one!" Fahra was absently scrolling through a list of instrumentals on youtube, before clicking the one she liked the look of. An electric guitar blared out of the speakers for a few seconds, before Fahra began to sing.

_Turn around there's those eyes again._

_Turn around fake indifference and I. _

_Watch their cold, dark silhouettes disappear._

He shot a wink towards the Tweedles who were already bouncing up and down in their seats. Blaine was looking at her, as though he were analysing the best way to take her down when they met at sectionals.

_A hundred bodies fill this room._

_And all their faces overdone._

_Pain is foreign, foreign to us._

_I don't even know you._

_You won't even know I'm gone._

_Was it something I did wrong?_

_Roses, roses cold._

_Roses, roses sold out._

At the end of that, as though on impulse, Fahra snapped her fingers, startling Wes out of staring at her and back to the singing. The girl winked at him, laughter evident in her eyes.

_Turn around reds and whites again._

_I'd sell my kicks for one more low tar._

_Fevers hand in hand with shoelace bracelets._

_Why are some girls so naive?_

_He didn't unbutton your blouse to see._

_A better view of your heart._

_Oh yeah, can't blame you for trying._

She'd returned her gaze to Logan and she was smiling at him. It was as though she trusted him already, even though they'd barely spoken.

If only she knew.

_I don't even know you._

_You won't even know I'm gone._

_Was it something I did wrong?_

_Roses, roses cold._

_Roses, roses sold out._

_Roses, roses cold._

_Roses, roses sold out._

_Sing it soft._

_Make it slow._

_Apples parachute the boys back down._

_Fill it up._

_Overflow._

_A new, improved modern way to feel._

_I don't even know you._

_You won't even know I'm gone._

_Was it something I did wrong?_

_Was it something I did wrong?_

_Was it something I did wrong?_

The music cut off and she was greeted by applause. Fahra bowed mockingly, before flipping her curly hair out of her eyes and laughing.

"Well, we definitely know we're up against some competition." Medel said, smiling. "I'm assuming you're lead? Or at least a soloist?"

"Er, no to both?" It was almost a question and mouths opened. "Sorry?"

"No harm done – we'll just have to work harder." Harvey said. The Tweedles groaned and everyone else laughed. "Well, boys, say goodbye. Yes, Evan, goodbye. You can introduce her to Dwight later."

"'kay Mr Harvey." Evan said, sounding downtrodden. The teachers left the room. Evan's head shot up, before going into a hurried introduction of everyone. "Ok, you already know Reed, Wes and David – they're the Dormouse, the March Hare and the Mad Hatter. This is Blaine, the White Rabbit. Blondie is Logan, I assume you knew that. He's the Knave. This is Bailey Tipton, the Gryphon." Bailey waved. "Then there's Nick, Jeff and Thad (A/N: That is all of them, right?)."

"Pleasure." Fahra grinned. "But I really should be getting back – Annabeth'll be screaming at Percy to look for me."

"Can I ask you something?" Logan added, just as Fahra turned. Her head whipped back to look at him.

"Sure."

"What does that thing on your shirt mean?" Fahra smiled mysteriously.

"Well, that's just for you to find out, Knave." She turned and made her way through the corridors. Logan followed soon after, needing some coffee. He expected to catch sight of her one last time, but there was no sign of the girl anywhere.

It was as though she had vanished into thin air.

XoooX

"I'm all for being happy about Kurt's dad and Finn's mom getting married, but Fahra, you honestly thought it would be clever to invite some Dalton boy?" Rachel was ranting at the black haired girl, who held her hands up in defence.

"It not gonna be any har-"

"NOT GOING TO BE ANY HARM?! HE IS SPYING ON US! HE COULD REPORT BACK TO WARBLERS AND THEN WE WILL BE DOOMED!"

"It's not as if we're going to be singing this at sectionals." Ethan muttered, running a hand through his hair. "And Kurt and Burt said he could come, along with a few friends."

"Is Rachel always this paranoid?" Thalia asked Puck, who nodded in assent.

"Yeah." He replied. "We had an issue with a spy last year – it affected her 'specially, but still, this is over the top." Rachel was now being calmed down by Finn and Nico had taken Fahra away from the brunette and was telling her that ripping her head off, be it figuratively or not, would not be a good course of action.

Kurt's head popped through the door a few seconds later. "Everyone ready?"

"I guess so. Finn, Rach, you're up first – knock 'em dead!" Thalia said, before pushing them both into the main hall, closing the door and sighing in relief. "Thank gods, they're gone." The sound of music started and Finn's voice, slightly muffled by the wood, came through into the room.

"Why do you say gods instead of God or gosh?" Puck couldn't help asking Thalia, who turned to stare at him with her electric blue eyes. "It doesn't matter – it's just, y'know, different. One of the few quirks you have."

"It's from a book I read." Thalia replied smoothly. "It's about Greek gods in modern day, the characters in it say 'oh my gods' or 'thank the gods' instead of the normal alternatives."

"Oh. Ok, then."

"And, that's our cue – c'mon, Puckerman. I'm not going to embarrass myself because you couldn't be bothered to go out and sing." The boy smirked, rolling his eyes as Thalia grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door, leaving the room empty once more.

XoooX

To be honest, Reed didn't know why he'd bothered showing up to the wedding, other than the fact that he was invited and, since their competition were there, he might as well see what he was up against. To be honest, he was worried.

He was sitting there with the rest of the Windsors, including Dwight, who had his holy water sprayer tucked into the belt on his trousers. Logan was there, too, trying to sit as far away from the Tweedles as possible, who were smiling in a slightly creepy way.

The New Directions had performed one song walking down the aisle, their director singing the song for the first dance and, finally, one more. Basically, it was now open mike, and a boy with black hair took the stage, whilst they were joined by Fahra, dressed in a red dress and smiling brightly.

"Wotcher, guys! Glad you could make it – to be honest, I'm amazed Mr Hum – Burt, let you come." She shrugged, dragging a spare chair from a table and sitting next to Logan. "Anyways, that doesn't matter much now. How are you enjoying yourselves?"

"It'll be much better once we can get to open mike." Blaine said, sighing. Dwight muttered something about demons. "Who's up there now?" Fahra turned, grinning.

"That's Nico – one of my best friends. Looks like he's singing Hedley. Cool."

A slow, piano introduction played, before Nico began to sing.

_Long steady road_

_Oh travel, be kind_

_I'm searching for some peace of mind_

_The home that you know_

_A home left behind_

_Oh trouble, don't trouble this time._

"Wow." Wes blinked. "He's good."

"He said he couldn't sing." Fahra said, shaking her head. "Idiot."

_And baby don't look back,_

_Odds don't stack_

_They just crumble down around you._

_Oh, you gotta go away if you wanna come back_

_I won't crack I can't make a sound without you._

Some people began to dance to it, a hesitant girl getting pulled up to dance with a boy with a Mohawk. Fahra sighed.

"Thalia doesn't look too happy. Puck should've left her alone."

_And even if it sounds crazy darling I won't let you go_

_And even if it don't stop raining darling I won't let you go_

_And even if the world's burning darling I won't let you go_

_Even if it sounds crazy darling I won't let you go._

_Know your way down your music, your town_

_You never are walking alone_

Nico smirked slightly, his eyes showing pain, as though the words held a special meaning to him. Fahra looked at him, with pity, mouthing the words he was singing.

_A storm that won't wait, a heart that won't break_

_Your mountains ain't made out of stone._

_So baby don't look back odds don't stack_

_They just crumble down around you_

_Oh you gotta go away if you wanna come back_

_I won't crack I can't make a sound without you._

_And even if it sounds crazy darling I won't let you go_

_And even if it don't ever stop raining darling I won't let you go_

_And even if the world's burning darling I won't let you go_

_Even if it sounds crazy, darling._

_And even if it don't ever stop raining darling I won't let you go_

_And even if the world's burning darling I won't let you go_

_Even if it sounds crazy, darling_

_No I can't, No I never will, never ever would, No I never could let you go_

The music stopped and Nico was met with a round of applause. He smiled slightly, before walking off the stage and walked over to join Fahra.

"Hey, Neeks." She said, smiling.

"Don't call me Neeks." Nico retorted. "Going to introduce me, Fahra?"

"Oh, yes, yes." Fahra cleared her throat. "Let me introduce the members of Warblerland – The Tweedles, Evan and Ethan Brightman, The Dormouse, Reed Van Kamp, The Mad Hatter and The March Hare, David Sullivan and Wes Hughes, The White Rabbit, Blaine Anderson, The Knave, Logan Wright and…um, I'm assuming you're The White Knight, Dwight Houston, right?" Dwight nodded, slightly detached from the conversation, wide eyes fixed on Nico.

"Ah, ok…Warblerland, Alice in Wonderland reference, right?" Nico asked, and the Brightman's nodded, causing him to smile. "Nico di Angelo."

"Pleasure." Reed responded, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Dodo." The Tweedles responded in tandem, causing Nico to blink.

"Oh…kay…"

"Chill, Neeks." Fahra waved a hand as he glared at her. "They love nicknaming people – I'm Rose."

"Yeah, and I get named after an extinct bird."

"Wonder what Thals and Ethan get nicknamed as."

Rachel's song finished to a round of applause.

"One of us should sing." David said, before two people walked up. Fahra grinned.

"Ethan's nabbed Thalia – can't wait." At Logan's confused look, Fahra elaborated. "Thalia isn't into the whole romance thing, whereas Ethan'll want to stick to the theme. It shall be very interesting to see what they come up with, to be frank."

The sound of a guitar started up and Ethan began to sing.

_Don't remind me_

_That some days I'm a windshield_

_And other days I'm just a lucky bug_

_As cold iron rails leave_

_Old mossy trails through the countryside_

"I love this song." Fahra said, humming along.

_The crow and the bean field_

_Are my best friends but_

_Boy, I need a hug (boy, I need a hug)_

_Cause my heart stops without you_

_There's something about you_

_That makes me feel alive_

Ethan looked as though he was enjoying himself, tapping his foot along to the beat. Logan was smiling and Ethan and Evan were dancing in their seats.

"He's good." Blaine said, nodding in approval. Dwight still looked nervous, his hand continuously inching towards his water sprayer.

_If the green left the grass on the other side_

_(I would make like a tree and leave)_

Thalia's voice was very pretty, good contrast with Ethan's and suited the song.

_But if I reached for your hand_

_Would your eyes get wide?_

_(Who knew the other side could be so green?)_

Thalia stepped forward and sang her solo.

_Don't remind me_

_I'm a chickadee in love with the sky_

_But that's clearly not a lot to crow about_

_Cause when the stars silhouette me_

_I'm scared they'll forget me_

_And flicker out_

_I taste honey but I haven't seen the hive_

_Yeah I didn't look, I didn't even try_

_But still my heart stops without you_

_There's something about you_

_That makes me feel alive_

Thalia's eyes were sparkling and Fahra laughed, clapping.

"Normally Thals wouldn't dare sing a song like this." Nico explained at the confused looks he was getting. "So it's a momentous occasion."

_If the green left the grass on the other side_

_(I would make like a tree and leave)_

_But if I reached for your hand_

_Would your eyes get wide?_

_(Who knew the other side could be so green?)_

_We are honey and the bee_

_Backyard of butterflies surrounded me_

Ethan sang, looking at Thalia. She sang the response lines.

_I fell in love with you_

_Like bees to honey_

Ethan sang back

_So let's up_

_And leave the weeping to the willow tree_

And Thalia sang the final line.

_And pour our tears in the sea_

_I swear there's a lot of vegetables out there_

_That crop up for air_

_Yeah I never thought_

_We were two peas in a pod_

_Until you suddenly bloomed_

_Then I knew_

_That I'd always love you_

_(Oh, I'll always love you too)_

Nico let out a whistle, earning himself a quick glare from Thalia and a laugh from the rest of the group.

_If the green left the grass on the other side_

_(I would make like a tree and leave)_

_But if I reached for your hand_

_Would your eyes get wide?_

_(Who knew the other side could be so green?)_

_If the green left the grass on the other side_

_(I would make like a tree and leave)_

_But if I reached for your hand_

_Would your eyes get wide?_

_(Who knew the other side could be so green?)_

_And if I reached for your hand_

_For the rest of my life_

_(Who knew the other side could be so green?)_

A raucous applause broke out and the two hopped off the stage, before darting over to their little group.

"Hey, guys!" Ethan panted. "What's up?"

"Not much, White King." Evan chirped.

"Oh goody, I got a nickname." Ethan stated sarcastically, earning him a hug from Fahra.

"You needed one." She pulled back, ruffled his hair, before slinging an arm over Logan's shoulders and leaning back in her chair, causing the blond to roll his eyes.

"You both are really good." Reed complimented. Thalia grinned.

"Thank you…"

"Reed." The smaller boy smiled. "Then you have Ethan and Evan Brightman, Logan Wright, Blaine Anderson, Wes Hughes, David Sullivan and Dwight Houston."

"Great." Thalia grinned.

"Nice to meet you, Eaglet." Thalia blanched, while her three friends exchanged looks, before bursting into hysterics.

"Oh gods, oh my gods!" Ethan blurted out. "That's hilarious." Nico had nearly collapsed, grasping Ethan's shoulder for support, whereas Fahra was leaning against a very confused and slightly uncomfortable Logan, giggling sidesplittingly.

Before they could question it, Kurt took to the stage and began to speak.

"Thank you all for coming, but I'm afraid, aside from close friends, the party's over. If you could leave via the exit at the back of the building, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you." Blaine got up from his chair, darting over to Kurt, who's face lit up as he spotted him. Fahra rolled her eyes.

"They better get together." She muttered. Logan raised an eyebrow at her as he stood up. "What?"

"Never mind." He muttered, stalking off to the door. Fahra's confused gaze followed him, looking slightly hurt.

"Don't worry." Reed placed a hand on her shoulder. "He'll get over it." Fahra merely nodded, smiling slightly at the smaller boy.

"Tell him I said bye for me, will you?"

"Sure."

"Goodbye Rose. See you round." The girl was then engulfed by two identical twins, struggling to escape from them while her other friends got a normal good bye. They were soon re-joined by Blaine, who looked slightly fretful, but said goodbye anyway. As the group left, Dwight trailed behind, looking anxiously back at the quartet. Ethan slowed down, allowing him to catch up, before draping an arm around the younger boy.

"What's up?" he asked, Dwight shaking his head.

"It's just…there's something…off, about them, y'know." The hunter shrugged, running a hand through his already messy hair. "It's not bad, but not good either."

Ethan had no idea what he was talking about, but nodded along.

"I don't think they mean any harm – if they did, Rose would've gotten rid of us by now." Dwight merely nodded, sighing slightly and moving closer to Ethan's body and his embrace.

"You're right." He said, breathing in the older boy's scent. "Thanks, Tweedle."

Ethan smiled.

XoooX

The choir room was in chaos, Thalia laughing at something Puck had said, Fahra, Ethan and Nico playing a three way match of rock, paper, scissors, before Mr Schue interrupted them.

"Come on, guys. The wedding was great, but we have got to get ready for Sectionals next week." Kurt entered the room, looking reserved and rather nervous. Ethan wondered why. "Kurt, good, I want to talk to you about this amazing idea I had for a solo for you at Sectionals."

"Can I make an announcement first?"

"Yeah." Kurt turned to face everyone, his voice rather shaky, and Ethan immediately knew something was up.

"First, I wanted to thank everyone for what you did at my dad's wedding, especially Finn. It's nice to know that I have great friends here as well as a true brother. Which is why it's so hard for me to leave." Everyone grew silent, staring, and the four semi-gods exchanged anxious looks.

"What do you mean, "Leave?"" Quinn asked.

"I'm transferring to Dalton Academy… immediately. My parents are using the money they saved up for their honeymoon to pay for the tuition."

"Kurt, you can't leave." Tina said.

"Technically, he can – he has his own right to." Fahra stated, though she exchanged a look with Nico. They had a silent conversation, Nico nodding slightly.

"What the hell, dude? How about you talk with me about this first?" Finn stood up, making his way over to Kurt, standing in front of him. Kurt's eyes were turning red, he looked as though he was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Finn, but there's nothing to talk about. Karofsky's coming back tomorrow, so that means I won't be."

"We can protect you."

"Seriously, we can, like, form a perimeter around you like the Secret Service."

"Yeah."

"That isn't the best idea though." Thalia murmured. "He'll have no freedom – everyone wants to be able to do what they want without having someone watching them constantly." Kurt shot her a grateful glance.

"The only thing that can really protect me is what they have at Dalton, a zero tolerance, no-bullying policy. It's enforced."

"Um, does this mean that you're going to be competing against us at Sectionals?" Rachel was silenced by Santana, who held up her hand in a sign to tell her to be quiet.

"Kurt…" Mercedes made her way over, looking betrayed and hurt as Kurt backed away slowly, silent tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.

"Sorry. I have to go." He turned and walked out of the class room, everyone staring after him. As one, the four demi-gods stood up.

"We'll be right back." Thalia told Puck when he asked her where they were going, and the four left the choir room, Mr Schue not questioning it.

"We have to tell him." Fahra said as soon as they were out of the room. "It's obvious he is one of those who has this power source - someone needs to look out for him!"

"He doesn't need to know!" Thalia snapped back. "We'll just send Nico over and –"

"- Let him think he can't protect himself?" Nico snorted. "He'll ignore me. Avoid me. No, he had to know."

"They're right, Thals." Ethan added.

"What are you right about?" The four turned, staring at Kurt, who was crying, eyes red.

"Oh, Kurt…" Fahra reached into her pocket, pulling out a packet of tissues. She took one out and handed it to Kurt, who took it and dried his wet eyes.

"We need to tell you something." Ethan said. "Something important."

"What is it?" Kurt asked. "And before you start, I'm not staying here – I can't."

"We know." Thalia placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder, turning to Fahra and Nico. "Go on – show him."

The two exchanged glances, before they nodded simultaneously. Kurt watched, his eyes widening in shock as Fahra vanished and Nico blended into the shadows, appearing a few feet away as Fahra was soon stood next to him.

"What…?"

"We're demi-gods – half god, half human." Ethan explained. "Fahra's a daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic. Nico, Hades, Thalia's Zeus and I'm Nemesis."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kurt raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Because Nico needs to go with you to Dalton." Fahra explained. "We respect that you need your independence, of course, but there's something bigger going on here…a source of power or something. We need to make sure you're safe from forces a no bullying policy can't control."

"You think I'm something to do with this power?" Kurt asked.

"Yes." Nico said. "We know the power is definitely to do with glee club – the reason for such a diverse range of students is because of this, or at least, I think it is. There's something with those Dalton kids, too. I'll be hanging with you lot quite a bit, mostly because I only know you, but also because of this source."

"This is so confusing." Kurt raised a hand to his head and sighed. "You think I'm a demi-god."

"No, but you are related to them in some way. We're not sure how quite yet." Ethan said. "You don't mind Nico coming, right?"

"Not at all." Kurt said. Nico smiled.

"Good." He said. "I think you may need some guidance to survive the insanity that is Dalton Academy, home of Warblerland."

XoOoX

Meant to update this weekend. Didn't finish it – oops.

Hope the nicknames are ok – I'm not sure to be honest, but they'll do for now.

Songs:

'Roses' – Meg and Dia

'I won't let you go (darling)' – Hedley

'Honey and the bee' – Owl City

Next chapter shall be just about entirely Dalton based, maybe a few snippets from McKinley High, but not many, as I want to try and write CP Coulter's OCs as best as possible. So I need to write, and write, and write a bit more.

Barely any of this chapter was in the episode, but it's obvious which one it is, right? I'm quite proud, actually.

Review, Favourite, Follow or whatever! Every little helps! ~Jazz xxx


	5. Nico's days at Dalton

"Well, we're here – oh, we're gonna miss you so much, Neeks!" Nico found himself getting engulfed in a hug by a teary, slightly hysterical Fahra at the gates of Dalton. "I'm gonna miss your sarcastic comments, your late night stints playing video games and…" Nico hastily patted her back.

"Erm…I'll miss you too?" He glanced at Thalia, who shook her head slightly at Fahra before giving him a thumbs-up. "But, honestly, I'll be visiting you after school and on weekends. I might drag the Tweedles along, too."

"M'kay." Fahra pulled away, before grinning. "Drag the Knave along too, will you?"

"Oh, little Rose."

"You don't want to get involved with the Knave."

Fahra let out a squeal and Nico turned to see two identical boys jogging up the gravel path to meet them, standing on either side of Nico.

"He's gay, y'see."

"You're totally not his type."

"Who says I don't want to be his friend?" Fahra said, smiling cheerily, her sad mood vanishing in the blink of an eye. "I like Lo – he seems nice enough." The twins exchanged uneasy glances. "What? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing – they're just being stupid." Fahra spun around, beaming when she saw Logan. "Hey, Fahra."

"Wotcher, Lo!"

"Lo?" Logan tilted his head, a grin playing on his lips.

"It's quicker than saying Logan." Fahra replied, before hugging Nico once more. "Take care of this idiot for me, yeah? I mean, he's gonna be in Windsor, but still."

"Sure." The Stuart smiled, ignoring the looks he was garnering from the twins. "Shouldn't you be leaving, though?"

"Yes, we should be." Ethan responded, checking his watch for the time. "Annabeth'll be freaking out, as she has been for the past couple of weeks."

"It's an Annabeth thing." Thalia said, sighing, before grabbing Fahra's wrist. "C'mon, I'll get you a latte."

"Oooh, latte!" Fahra bounced on the balls of her feet, before darting off to follow Ethan. "Bye members of Warblerland!"

"Insane." Nico confirmed, shaking his head, watching in amusement as Ethan and Fahra were walking away from Dalton, Thalia following them at a more subdued pace. "I'm gonna miss them."

"'Course you will, Dodo." Ethan flung one arm around his shoulders.

"But we'll more than make up for their insanity." Evan added on, flinging an arm around the other way, before steering the boy towards Windsor House. "Let's show you our humble abode."

"Bye!" Nico managed to call back to Logan, raising a hand in farewell. Logan merely sighed, holding his hand up in parting. The sound of Only Just a Dream blared from his blazer pocket. Logan fished around, before pulling out his phone, smiling at the caller ID, eyes brightening slightly, before answering the call.

"Hey Jules. You'll never guess who I've just met! …No, it's not another boy."

XoooX

"Now I know what Fahra meant when she said this place was like Hogwarts." Nico stated, staring in awe at the building. "And this is only Windsor House?"

"Yes." Ethan gestured upwards, where Nico could easily see another massive house. "That's Stuart."

"Logan's there, right?" Nico asked.

"Correct, Dodo." Evan smirked. "And over there." He gestured east. "Is Hanover."

"We Windsors have an on-going rivalry with Stuart – don't question it."

"So we suggest not getting too close to any of them."

"Though Bailey's nice enough."

"And Hanover prefers to stay out of conflict."

"So feel free to make friends with them."

"You'll probably have a dorm of your own."

"Unless you want to relieve Todd of Dwight."

"Or room with Reed or Kurt."

Nico held up a hand. "Give me a sec to take all of this in – so, stay away from Stuart, feel free to chill with Hanover. I can either have a room to my own, or share with either Dwight, Reed or Kurt?"

"Correct." The Tweedles chorused, before grabbing both his arms and entering Windsor House. A few people were gathered on the sofa and Nico breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that Kurt, the only one he knew really well, was there already. "This is the commons, where many things take place, from studying to Nerf wars."

"Mostly the latter." Reed inputted helpfully.

"On the second floor are the dorms." Ethan said.

"There's a kitchen down here." Evan added.

"Your room'll be obvious."

"It'll be filled with stuff Fahra gave us yesterday."

"So you'll feel at home."

"And now, we must introduce you to the rest of the house!"

"Haven't I met you all already?" Nico grumbled, allowing himself to get dragged up the stairs.

Their first stop was at David's dorm, which he shared with Wes. Blaine was in there, Wes and the curly haired Warbler playing some video game.

"Heya, Nico!" David said. Nico, currently, was clamped in-between the Tweedles, looking disgruntled. "You look like you really, really don't want to be here."

"I just want to unpack and die." He muttered. Wes and Blaine had paused the game, watching amusedly, lips twitching. "Don't laugh, or I will sic a pack of the un-dead on you!" He was then distracted by the feeling of something wet on his neck and whipped around, facing Dwight who had a spray bottle pointed at him, eyes wide. "Oh, hey Dwight."

"What gives you control over the un-dead?" Nico blinked. Dwight squirted him again.

"Dwight, you've met." Evan said. "I suggest you allow him to spray you with holy water – it'll exorcise any demons you have possessing you."

"Think I could borrow that?" Nico mused, eying the squirt bottle with interest. "I could try to exorcise Fahra…"

Dwight backed away slowly, before running for it down the corridor, blazer flying behind him like a cape.

"This is normal." Ethan said to the bewildered Nico.

"Ok…I can get used to this…I think."

"That's the spirit!" the twins chimed. "Now, you still need to meet Drew, Satoru, Han…"

"I'm doomed." Nico muttered, running a hand down his face.

XoooX

"So, Kurt's already sang his solo? Now I have to do mine?" Nico looked slightly overwhelmed. Then again, it had only been a few days. He'd gotten used to seeing his room salted, to catching Reed before he fell down a flight of stairs and the Tweedles' pranks. But still, the glee club here was much more…proper. And Thalia told him that he had to join because Sectionals would probably be one of the only times they'd get to speak to him for a long period of time.

"Yep." Logan replied. Yes, despite what the twins had told him, Nico still hung around with Logan. Sue him. "I'm sure you'll do fine – you singing at the wedding was amazing, so here will be a cake-walk."

"I doubt it." He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Ugh, why did Thalia have to bribe me with Sally's cookies? She knows I can't resist them!" Logan laughed.

"That's probably why, then." The chatter silenced when Harvey and Medel entered the room.

"Right, let's get started." Harvey said, clapping his hands together, turning to face Nico. "Mr di Angelo – you have a song prepared."

"Ah, yes. Give me a sec." he began to rummage in his blazer pockets, cursing under his breath. "Um, Logan, you wouldn't happen to have a phone on you, would you?"

"Sure – but why?" Logan asked, handing the mobile over. The rest of the room was just as curious.

"Fahra insisted on doing a duet with me – she's sure she'll never get another chance." He rolled his eyes, before dialling the girl's number and putting the phone on speaker.

"Wotcher, this is Fahra Swift. Who is this strange number which I don't know?"

"Hey, Fahra, it's Nico."

"Oh, hey Neeks." The Warblers snorted at the disgruntled look on the boy's face. "Oh, I'm on speaker. Hey guys!" Fahra's voice sounded disgustingly cheery.

"You wanted to do a duet Fahra." Nico stated, getting down to the point. "Ok?"

"Yup. Oh, let me put my mobile on speaker."

"WHAT?! THAT WAS NOT OUR-"

"Hi Nico!"

"Di Angelo!"

"I hate you, Fahra." Nico grumbled, placing the phone on top of the piano.

"Love you too, Neeks." Fahra replied cheekily. "So, you're starting, right?"

"No. You are. You forgot?"

"Just messing with you."

Nico sighed, handing sheet music over to Medel, who was looking amused. "Can we just start before I get a headache?"

"Of course."

The music began to play and Fahra began to sing.

_Did you think about what I said last night?_

_Knowing you, you probably didn't._

_I could picture your face on the other side._

_Completely oblivious._

_Do you really feel like this love is real?_

_I wish I could join you._

Her voice over the phone wasn't as good as when she was performing live. It was absent of the normal stage presence she had. Still, the emotion came through. It was obvious she was in glee club, as a voice which Nico recognised as Rachel's made to speak, only to get shushed by Quinn.

_I'm bored of your love_

_I'm bored of your face_

_I'm bored of your random all_

_over the place attitude_

_I'm bored of you_

Nico took up his part, slightly less eagerly as Fahra, but still. He sort of had to.

_So, I thought about what you said last night_

_Normally I probably wouldn't_

_But something you said kept me up all night_

_I tried to sleep but I just couldn't_

_I hope you still feel like_

_this love is for real_

_'Cause I know that I do_

_I'm in love with your love_

_In love with your face_

_In love with almost everything that you say_

_Yes it's true_

_I'm in love with you_

Nico could almost imagine Ethan growling at him and allowed a half smile to grace his face. Then the two began to sing together.

_I'm bored with your love_

_(I'm in love with your love)_

_I'm bored of your face_

_(In love with your face)_

_I'm bored of your random all_

_over the place attitude_

_I'm bored of you_

_(I'm in love with you)_

_I wish you put effort in_

_trying to make this new_

_(I would if you asked me, I'd_

_do anything for you)_

_I wish we were strangers_

_(It's not like we're strangers)_

_In all the excitement we'd fall in love_

There was an instrumental break, then it was Nico's turn to sing again.

_(Guess that's it then)_

_Can I take you out just this one last time,_

_We could pretend I never met you_

And then Fahra.

_Well I'd love to, sounds like a lovely time,_

_But I'm sorry, I just can't let you_

_I'm bored of your love_

_I'm bored of your love_

_I'm up to my neck in this mess and I'm sorry_

And finally, both of them once again.

_I'll remember your love_

_Remember your face_

_When it's over and done it_

_won't quite be the same_

_without you_

_I'll remember you_

_(I'll remember you)_

_I'll remember your love_

_Remember your face_

_When it's over and done it_

_won't quite be the same_

_without you_

_I'll remember you_

_(I'll remember you)_

_I'll remember you_

There was applause from the Warblers and the New Directions.

"Thank you, thank you!" Fahra said grandly, laughing.

"Whatever, Fahra." Nico rolled his eyes. "Thanks, though. Anything you want to say while you're still here?"

"Oh, yeah. Lo, how are things? Still intact with all your limbs and everything?"

"Yes, I'm good, Rose."

"Good. Tweedles, you there? If so, don't kill Logan. I know you don't like him but, seriously, I'd prefer you not to go to prison for murder."

"But Rose…"

"No."

"Fine."

"Brilliant. Kurt, Blaine, get together. Seriously. DON'T DEFY ME! Thalia, give me back the phone!"

"Sorry 'bout that, everyone. Mr Schue is seriously getting annoyed by her being a pain."

"That's normal for her." Nico said. The Warblers exchanged glances, along with the two teachers. "Give her back the phone before she hurts herself."

"I'm back. Um…I'm sure there are people I'm missing…oh yeah! Reed, Wes, David, do whatever you have in your power to make sure Nico doesn't die or whatever. The rest of you, I don't actually know that well, so, um…hi? Hope to get to know you better in the future? ...Yeah, I'm getting weird looks from Mr Schue so I gotta skedaddle. Toodles!" There was a click and the line died. Nico pressed the end call button and handed it back to Logan, who put it back in his pocket.

"That's…normal for her?" Bailey asked.

"Very much so. She's worse when she has caffeine or sugar." Nico shuddered. "It's not pretty. Anyway, so…am I in?"

"Yes." Harvey said immediately. Nico grinned, retaking his seat and stretching. "Ok, so we need to talk about Sectionals…"

XoooX

"Holy shit! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Nico was seriously considering whipping his sword out and killing whatever was carrying him, until he recognised the twin laughs. "Tweedles. I should've known. Question – where are you taking me? It must be the middle of the night or something."

"We're having a party. To celebrate you and Kurt lasting in Windsor."

"Oh. Then why, exactly, AM I WEARING A BLINDFOLD?"

"Adds to the mystery."

"I hate you."

"You love us really, Dodo."

"It's Fahra who loves you. I want to strangle you."

"Same difference."

Nico yelped as he was unceremoniously dumped on the ground, hearing another thump and a huff alerted him to the fact that Kurt had been deposited next to him. After a few minutes, he could see again. There was a massive bonfire and Kurt looked freaked out.

"Guys, I thought I was going to die!" He said. David was muttering something about sleeping in clothes.

"I had about the same reaction. Then about halfway through it I had a rather civil conversation with my captors about how I wanted to kill them." Nico said, ignoring Kurt's incredulous look. "I think I'm gaining Fahra's insanity. Or everyone's. I'm not sure, really."

"It's something we do to welcome all the newcomers." Blaine said, looking sheepish, helping Kurt off the ground, Evan pulling Nico up as well. "Right, Dwight?"

"He was screaming all the way across the grounds." Wes snickered.

"Convinced we were going to burn him at the stake." David added.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Nico and Kurt said together, Nico watching as Dwight elegantly flipped Wes off, hand going to clutch one of his medallions.

"What, exactly, is this initiation?" Kurt asked.

"A welcome party!" The Tweedles cheered in unison and everything burst to life, cans of soda being passed around and sweets being grabbed at by the boys. Nico left Kurt and Blaine talking and grabbed some relatively savoury food, which happened to be a muffin. After a quick glance around, he threw it into the bonfire.

"To Hades." He murmured, a slight smile crossing his face as the smell of wild flowers filled his nose.

"What did you do?" Nico jumped, turning to see Dwight staring at him. "Burning things don't smell like that! What did you do?" Nico glanced around uncertainly, but saw no one was paying any attention to them. He returned to studying Dwight. He was pale and gaunt, the only colour from his red lips, which looked as though they had been continuously bitten. His black hair looked windswept. In the light of the fire, he looked like a ghost. Nico noticed he was grasping a medallion tightly, his knuckles turning white and he felt his heart go out to the boy.

"Nothing, Dwight. I swear it, ok?" Dwight's hand twitched towards his water spritzer. "If it helps, you can spray me." At that, Dwight shook his head.

"No…I-I trust you." He was trembling slightly, but a determined look came over his features. "No demon would willingly want to be vanquished. I-it's just…th-there's something…off, about you. Don't take that in a bad way!" He rushed, seeing Nico's quirked eyebrow. "It's just…argh, you won't believe me. No one does."

"Try me." Dwight stared at him.

"What?"

"Tell me what you think you saw or felt."

"It's stupid." Dwight began, running a hand through his hair. "But you and your friends…Fahra, Ethan and Thalia, right?" At Nico's nod, he continued. "There's something…different about you. From, like, everyone else. It's like…an aura or something. Not visible, but like a veil or something. Right now, it feels rather dark from you…but from Fahra, it's much lighter, and a lot stronger. Thalia's was more…sparky? I don't know how to explain it…and it was only very slightly there from Ethan…" Dwight trailed off and Nico felt the world fall out from under his feet.

How could Dwight, this superstitious boy, see their magic? This was a new development. He needed to figure this out but, for now, he pushed it into the recesses of his mind, ready to be pulled out again when needed.

"I believe you." Those three words made Dwight smile hugely. "I can explain but…not now. If I'm to tell you, it will be when the time is right, ok?"

"Sure." He replied, before rummaging around in his dressing gown pocket and pulling out a badge. "Here you go – it's a Windsor pin. You'll need this." Nico grinned.

"Thanks." He put it on his pyjama's, feeling like he belonged, before he heard them getting called over by a group of Windsors. "They want us."

"Probably for some excruciating prank." Dwight said, holding out his arm. "Lead me there, kind sir." His eyes were glimmering with amusement.

"Of course, dear knight." Nico replied with a laugh and the two walked over.

"-sanities, when are they going to get a move on!" That was Wes, groaning. "I think I'm gonna hurl up my s'mores if they keep this up."

"I think it's cute." Reed said, grinning.

"It's too soon." Dwight said, still arm in arm with Nico. "I mean, Kurt just got here."

"Do you have any idea how much of Blaine's ramblings we've had to suffer?" Ethan grumbled, looking at the two boys, disgruntled.

"It was a relief getting Alice here." Evan added. "I mean, we'll have to suffer through Blaine's daydreaming, but it's better than before."

"I don't know." Dwight frowned, moving closer to Nico. "Blaine didn't look all that happy when he got a text from Kurt – it was like he was suspecting the worst. He was relieved when it wasn't. And Kurt's got this dark aura –"

"Oh, so we're seeing aura's now?"

"Back off, Wes!" Nico snapped. "You know what he means." His voice softened slightly, eyes flickering over to Kurt. "He's had a rough time at McKinley."

"You know why he transferred, don't you?" Dwight asked. "Why?"

"I know, and I can't tell you." He held up a hand when the gatherers opened their mouths to protest. "It's not my secret to tell. Kurt'll tell you when he feels ready."

"This is just becoming overly sweet." David wrinkled his nose. "Come on, let's go annoy Blaine and break it up."

With cries of triumph, the Tweedles and Wes followed David over, leaving Dwight, Nico and Reed on their own. They exchanged looks, shrugged, and made their way over to the food, grabbing sweets and drinks.

The party ended when Mr Tamerlane, the groundskeeper, came to see what the noise was. The boys ran back to Windsor, giggling like school girls as they attempted to avoid getting Windsor any sanctions.

When Dwight went to his room, wishing Nico a good night and offering to salt his room (which Nico refused), the son of Hades knew he had at least one good friend at Dalton.

XoooX

Nico was deep in conversation with Dwight when Derek showed up.

Both their heads turned to peer at the door where David was having a face-off with the boy. Nico's instinct immediately screamed 'fight' and looked at Dwight.

"Should we do something?"

"Not yet." Dwight said. Wes had joined David and soon, things began to grow heated. That was when Dwight stepped in, Nico a few steps behind. Dwight ran in between the two boys when Derek took a step forward. "Now, now. Everyone keep calm and I won't have to spray you." He looked back and forth between the three, Nico finding it insanely interesting. "Past is past, what's done is done. And nothing was ever proved. As far as we're concerned, we're all innocent. Let's not throw accusations all over again. Nothing's happened this school year, right? It's a giant clean slate. We're still all good?"

Apparently that didn't seem to help and Nico, on impulse, pulled Dwight out of the line of fire. He'd seen when Thalia and Percy got arguing – it was not pretty.

"Guys, chill." He said, finally garnering some attention. "I'm assuming you're a Stuart?" Derek nodded. "Cool – tell Logan I say hi at some point. Oh, and Fahra's planning to infiltrate Stuart House – she can infiltrate Dalton already. Don't even bother asking." He added at Derek's confused expression.

"You may leave now." David said. "We'll give Kurt Logan's regards."

"Thank you David." Derek said. "And I'll be sure to give Logan your…message…" Derek shot Nico a confused look, before leaving.

"I'm guessing this is normal?" Nico said, sighing.

"Can you guys please not start anything when Charlie and Blaine aren't here?" Dwight pleaded.

"As if Charlie would've stopped us." Wes snorted. "This rivalry has been going on for 25 years. We don't even know how it started – I bet our parents don't even know! I doubt it's going to stop because our prefect says it should." Nico's eyes narrowed – this sounded a lot like the rivalries the gods had against each other, mainly Athena and Poseidon.

"Just because it's been going on for years, doesn't mean we should continue it." He reasoned. "I mean, whatever our ancestors did is what they did – we shouldn't have anything to do with it."

"Whatever – anyway, it appears as though Kurt had got Logan's attention." David said.

"Wait – he wants Hummel?" Dwight frowned. "What did he do to them?"

"Nothing." David felt the package Derek had given him. "Doesn't feel suspicious. I think it'll be safe to give it to Kurt."

"I still can't believe this is normal." Nico said. "I've seen rivalries – trust me, you don't want to know. But they aren't this bad."

"This is Dalton." Dwight said as a way of explanation. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that explained everything.

XoooX

"I bet I'd rule at fencing." Nico stated, leaning forward in his seat. "I love sword fighting."

"You did sword fighting?" Dwight asked. They were stubbornly ignoring the rest of the Windsors.

"Yup. At a summer camp." Nico laughed at the look on Dwight's face. "It was fun – my dad made sure I knew self-defence, too. So I did a bit of wrestling, bit of fist fighting, though jujitsu and stuff is more my style. Fahra uses gymnastics more than that – she's so flexible, you wouldn't believe. Thalia's good at just about everything, same with Ethan."

"Wow…you guys are so weird."

"All the best people are."

"So true."

It was quiet for a while, until Dwight noticed Logan had decided to join the Windsors, many of who were bristling. He winced.

"This is going to get ugly."

"Wha – oh. Yeah."

"Should we step in?"

"Probably." At that, the two got up, walking over to the group. "Hey guys, try not to kill each other – very messy mess to clean up and all."

"Hi Nico." Logan tilted his head. Nico gave a half smile.

"I'm assuming Fahra hasn't yet infiltrated Stuart?"

"She hasn't." Logan said. "Anyway, it's starting."

"Good luck." Kurt waved awkwardly, the two fencers walking down to the floor.

"Honestly, can you guys try not to maim each other?" Nico said, exasperated.

"It's in their nature." Dwight replied as the group took their seats. "Fortunately, it doesn't run through my DNA."

"You, Dwight, are the only reasonable one of them all."

"Thank you."

XoooX

Fortunately for Dwight and Nico, they'd hidden themselves away in Nico's room, discussing demons and supposedly mythical creatures during the celebratory party, thus were not on campus arrest and their records were clean. Despite this, they decided to stay on campus, if only to stop the Tweedles whining about how unfair it was.

This meant that they smelt Kurt baking cookies in the kitchen and, being boys, followed the smell. Or attempted to. They ended up barricading the door when Ethan and Evan tried to nail them with paintballs.

"Those two are so frustrating!" Nico groaned. "They're worse than Travis and Connor!"

"I don't want to know." Dwight informed him. "It smells so nice! We're not going to get whatever Kurt is baking!"

"And Fahra hasn't sent me any of Sally's cookies." Nico sighed. "So we don't have anything to eat while we're waiting."

After a while, the paintballing ceased and the two decided it was safe enough to venture downstairs. When they reached the commons, they were surprised to see the culprits of the paintballing incident eating cookies.

"Dwight! Nico!" Reed called. "You have got to try these!" The almost empty bowl was passed over to the two, who exchanged looks and sat by the bay window, taking one each and eating.

"Castiel! These are…" Dwight's eyes were wide. "These are delicious!"

"I still prefer Sally's." Nico admitted, ignoring the incredulous gazes he was getting. "What? These are brilliant, but Sally…" Nico's eyes grew soft. "I miss her."

"Sorry." Dwight said. "What happened?"

"She lives in New York – she's Percy's mom…mine died when I was really little. I can't really remember her…"

"Oh."

"Did you know Kurt's mom's dead?" Reed asked softly. "He said this was her recipe." The room grew silent.

"…I'm eating haunted cookies?" Dwight asked in soft horror, before sofa pillows were thrown at him. Nico swatted a few away, rolling his eyes at the typical statement from Dwight.

"Nico, you must know this. Or even you, Blaine. Why did Kurt move here?" Ethan asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah, I mean…nothing against him or whatever, but you saw his house," Evan agreed, directing this to Blaine. "He's not…uh…in the same tax bracket as us."

"And he was in his old school's Glee club," said David, raising an eyebrow. "They were those guys on the phone during his audition. He was singing to them, Blaine. And all that stuff you said about him looking lonely and unhappy the first days. It means he misses them."

"So…if he really likes them…why would he just up and move here, costing his parents all that money?" Reed asked, brow furrowing. "I know the Warblers are amazing, but he doesn't look like the type to ditch his own team for a 'better' one." Blaine remained silent, Nico biting the insides of his lips, Reed added, "…is he in some kind of trouble, Blaine, Nico?"

"We can't tell you – it should be Kurt who tells you." Nico said, running a hand through his hair.

"Just tell us!" Wes snapped. "We live with him! He's one of us, and if he has problems, I want to know about it!"

"I want him to be safe." Blaine spoke up, eyes growing hard. "I don't want him being hurt again. Understand?" Everyone nodded.

"Now, tell us."

XoooX

Fahra had, successfully, infiltrated Dalton with the rest of the New Direction girls. Unfortunately, they had infiltrated Windsor and not Stuart, like Fahra wanted, and a very angry Kurt was lecturing them on the dangers of performing basket tosses without catchers.

Fahra had zoned out of the conversation, only inputting with a 'they weren't too bothered about me' when Kurt said that they weren't really allowed girls on campus.

"Guys? Hello?"

"Kurt!" Suddenly, the counter tenor was attacked by a mass of boys. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Basically, it was a massive babble of apologies, condolences and lots of other stuff. It appeared Dwight and Nico were the only ones who noticed the girls. Fahra waved. Dwight and Nico waved back, before the younger boy spoke up.

"GENTLEMEN! Ladies in the hall." The noise stopped and everyone turned to look at the group simultaneously.

"That was really creepy." Fahra hummed. Thalia rolled her eyes. "Wotcher, guys!"

"They wanted to meet you all." Kurt sighed. "Well, apart from Fahra and Thalia – apparently, you know them already."

"Infiltrating Dalton has its perks." Fahra chirped happily. Thalia sighed.

"I honestly don't know why I'm friends with you."

"Anyway, this is Quinn, Tina, Rachel, Santana, Brittany and –"

"Mercedes. Pleasure to see you again." Blaine said, smiling.

"Girls, this is Blaine, Dwight, Reed, David, Wes, and the twins Evan and Ethan." Santana caught Dwight's eye, grinned and gave him a saucy wink.

Eyes wide, Dwight backed up and raised his medallion defensively to Santana—"Whoa!"—who gave him a look that was both annoyed and downright grossed out. Nico gave her a glare.

Fahra had zoned out of the conversation, skipping over to Nico and hugging him. "Heya, Death boy."

"Hi, Fahre."

"You guys really need to go." Kurt spoke up. "Or else we'll be in big trouble."

"They can't stay?" Wes and the twins nearly whined, until the tupperware box under Kurt's arm caught their attention.

"The last of the cookies…" Reed breathed. Kurt gave them all a 'you are insane' look, before turning back to the girls, telling them to never do it again.

"Fine, don't worry." Thalia said, grabbing Fahra's arm and dragging her away from Nico. "We know you're in good hands – we'll get out of your hair now."

As they left, Fahra heard the sounds of a scuffle from inside the house and she wondered if she could get a sample of Kurt's cookies. They must taste delicious.

XoooX

Nico and Dwight were, unfortunately, studying. The son of Hades once again wondered why Dalton gave out such impressive amounts of homework. Even his teachers in the underworld didn't give him this much work. And they were mostly dead people.

So he wasn't surprised that a very accurate rendition of the Joker's laugh echoed through the house a few seconds later, causing Dwight to screech and dive for his salt circle, amulet clutched in hand.

Nico had the courage to poke his head out of the door to see the twins, dressed up in Joker costumes, being chased by Wes and David, dressed up as Batman and Nightwing, down the corridor, pelting them with, what seemed to be, cranberry juice filled water balloons. Nico blinked, before ducking back into the room, avoiding getting hit by one of them, slamming the door shut.

"It's the Tweedles, Wes and David." He told Dwight. "Have you checked them for possession yet? Because I honestly think they are."

"I've checked them so many times." The younger boy sighed, reaching for his water spritzer. "But I could try one more time."

"I suggest waiting until they've stopped running around." Nico said, sighing. "Or else you'll get covered in cranberry juice."

"Ah…good point."

XoooX

"I've come to the conclusion that just about all of you are insane."

"It honestly took you that long to figure it out?"

"Yes. It might be the fact that I awoke to find my room covered in pink – stop laughing! It was not funny!"

The Tweedles had cracked up, Wes and David muffling laughter behind their hands. Kurt looked at Nico in sympathy, though his lips were twitching into a smile. Reed was giggling silently, his face turning red, and Blaine was grinning like a mad man. Huffing, Nico sat next to Logan, who patted his back as though he understood what he was going through.

When Sylvia and Harvey entered the room, they began to rehearse, which went spectacularly well, as Reed didn't fall off his ledge once. Nico had figured this was the end of the rehearsal, only to have Medel make an announcement.

"Now… We have two candidates to duel for the lead. As is our rules, they will each perform a song before you. After which, we would take an anonymous vote. Mr Harvey and I will count the votes, and announce who takes the lead."

Nico's head whipped around to stare around the room, as if he could tell who was competing with Blaine for the lead by staring at them intently. Unfortunately, despite the fact he could raise the dead and communicate with them, mind reading was not a power he possessed.

"Our two duellers are Blaine," Sylvia gestured to Blaine, who stood amidst clapping, "and Logan." Logan rose and was also received with the same amount of applause. Nico raised an eyebrow – he should have expected it, really.

Sylvia held out a velvet bag to Blaine and Logan, who came forward. The two each drew a marble out of the bag. Logan's was red, Blaine's blue. Blaine nodded to Sylvia and Logan and returned to his seat with Kurt, Wes and David, alerting Nico to the fact that Logan was going to sing first.

"Let's see what he's got after all this time," David muttered and Nico tilted his head. What were they talking about? Had Logan duelled for the position of lead before or something?

Blaine sat next to Kurt with no decipherable expression, watching Logan carefully as he approached the piano. As was allowed, Logan had three other boys for backup with him, two Stuart boys, and one Hanover.

After a moment, Logan began to play. The melody was familiar, but mellowed out by the piano. Nico raised an eyebrow, as he recognised the tune almost instantly, along with Kurt, after being accustomed to Mr Schue's taste in music, even though Nico had been at McKinley for a much shorter time than Kurt.

It was Aerosmith, don't want to miss a thing. Even though he was released from the Lotus Casino much after the songs release date, he had heard it being played often there. Then he noticed where Logan's eyes kept flicking to – Kurt.

Well, shit. Fahra was going to explode if she found out. Hopefully not literally, because that would be terribly messy. Nico decided to store away the information and not speak a word of it to Fahra, because she may kill Logan. Or smack him. Or, basically, just hurt him for messing with 'Klaine', as she so affectionately called Kurt and Blaine.

While these thoughts were whirling through his mind, Nico took a moment to decide that, yes, Logan was an amazing singer.

When he'd finished, all the Warblers applauded and Logan smiled, sending a final glance towards Kurt, before returning to his seat next to Nico. The darker boy quirked an eyebrow at Logan, tilting his head towards Kurt. Logan gave him a crooked smiled, shrugging.

"Next, we have Blaine." At that Blaine stood up, along with David, Wes and the twins amidst the cheers from the rest of the Warblers. Nico's eyebrows shot up his forehead as Blaine picked up a guitar. Well, he certainly didn't know that the Warbler could play the guitar.

After enjoying the song (just so you know, Jesse McCartney – which Thalia would have criticized.), but enduring yet another round of Kurt being serenaded, Nico cast his vote and waited for the teachers to count the votes. He kept looking between the three boys who had been the centre of attention recently, and wondered how Kurt was going to choose between the two of them.

XoOoX

FINALLY! IT IS DONE! *cheers*

Gosh, this took a long time – just about all of this is original. Any parts you can recognise are taken from Dalton.

So, Nico and Dwight friendship. Yeah, 'twas unexpected, but I think that, because Nico has experienced so much weirdness, he would believe Dwight. Dwight would like that, as many people think he is insane. He isn't – he just sees things *shifty eyes*.

The song was 'Bored of Your Love' by Meg & Dia.

Anyways, expect the next chapter soon-ish (hopefully) and to include more McKinley-ness and definitely some Dalton-ers.

Hope you enjoyed! Read and Review, please! ~ Jazz xxx


	6. Special Education (Thalia Gets a Solo)

"No, no, no. That's stupid." Thalia protested. "You cannot douse your coffee with that much sugar, or else you'll have a mega depression afterwards."

"But without it, it tastes bitter and nasty." Puck retorted, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Then you don't drink coffee." Thalia concluded. "You drink hot chocolate or tea or-"

"Vanilla latte!" Fahra piped in, ignoring the glares she received from both of the teens. "It isn't bitter, but it's coffee. It was the first coffee I could stomach."

"You still can't stomach mine." Thalia commented idly.

"Yours is, like, the bitterest coffee in the world though!" Fahra replied, before leaning back in her seat. Ethan watched the trio in interest. "Honestly, Thals, I do wonder how on earth you can drink that stuff."

"Agree, Swift." Puck said, and the two fist bumped like old friends.

"You both just don't understand the amazingness that is good coffee." Thalia sniffed, before turning to face the front of the choir room as the door opened and Mr Schue entered. Almost as soon as he stepped into the room, Rachel stood up. Thalia stifled a groan, dramatically flopping her head to rest on Puck's shoulder. "Save me." She grumbled under her breath, feeling Puck's shoulder shaking as he suppressed laughter.

"Mr Schuester, I have an announcement. I've selected the perfect moving ballad for Finn and I to sing to launch our performance at Sectionals." She said, looking as self-absorbed an important as ever. Thalia muffled her groan into Puck's shoulder.

"Me first. Two things. First, our competition at Sectionals are your classic stool choirs. Great voices, but they don't move." Fahra piped up.

"Uh, actually, the Warblers can move. A lot." This garnered stares from just about all of the glee club and Thalia removed her head from Puck's shoulder. "Impromptu performance with some of them – ask no questions, I'll tell no lies. But, I've not seen their lead singer in action…well, I have, but that's beside the point. From what most of them are like, I'm guessing they might not be dancing as much, but…yeah, don't underestimate them."

"That was a riveting speech, very uplifting." Artie stated sarcastically, clapping slowly. Fahra shot him a glare.

"Oh, shut up, Wheels."

"Guys, don't fight." Mr Schue said. "Now if we're gonna beat them, we need to do what they can't. Dance. Which is why I've decided to feature Brittany and Mike Chang's sweet moves in our performance."

"Wait, they're gonna dance in front of me while I sing my solo?" Rachel said. Ethan rolled his eyes, leaning forward so his head was in-between Thalia and Puck's.

"Is she always like this?"

"Yup."

"You're not getting a solo for this competition Rachel." Mr Schue butted in. Thalia cheered internally.

"Finally! So what song do I get to sing?" Mercedes said. Fahra raised an eyebrow.

"This is like a popularity contest." She muttered. Thalia nodded her head slightly in agreement.

"I was thinking that the winners of our duets competition would take the leads."

"Who?" Ethan asked. Rachel answered for him.

"Ken and Barbie?!" She said, gesturing towards Quinn and Sam, Quinn who was looking rather disgruntled. "Wait a-a-are are you trying to throw this?"

"You used to be just sort of unlikeable, but now, I pretty much feel like punching you every time you open your mouth." Quinn replied, Thalia silently agreeing with her.

"Okay, listen, I have talked the talk about everyone in here feeling special for over a year now, but frankly I haven't walked the walk. I mean, we have got a lot of talent here, and I'm gonna highlight it." Mr Schue said firmly, before turning back and rifling through sheet music.

Rachel whispered something to Finn, before the taller boy spoke up.

"Look, I'm all for… pumping up the team, making everyone feel special, but that's for practice. You don't take the star quarterback out before the big game."

"Yeah." Rachel agreed.

"Easy to say when you're the star quarterback." Tina retorted.

"This isn't just about me, this is about the team."

"You are such a hypocrite." Santana accused.

"Oh, like you even know what that means." Rachel argued.

"It means that your boyfriend is full of crap, hobbit!"

"You know what? Ever since the wedding you've been up my butt and I am sick of it!"

"C'mon Rachel, she's not worth it." Her boyfriend tried to placate her, but to no avail.

"Oh really? Cuz that's not what you thought last year in that motel room." Santana smirked at Rachel's shocked face. "That's right Yentl, your sweetheart? He's been lying to you, cuz he and I totally got it on last year."

"Will you all just shut up?" Thalia yelled, before all heads turned to her. "Thank you. Now, instead of arguing, shouldn't we be practicing so we actually win Sectionals?"

"Thalia's right." Puck agreed. "Mr Schue?" The Spanish teacher looked quite relieved that at least two of the members were OK with his plan.

"This is our plan for Sectionals, and that is that." Most of the room looked on in silence, shocked. "Mike, Brittany, c'mon up, let's start choreographing."

XoooX

"Fahra sounded like she wanted to strangle someone when she was talking to me last night." Logan said casually as he walked with Nico, hands in his blazer pockets.

"What happened?" Nico asked, fiddling with his tie.

"Dunno. Apparently there was a massive argument in glee club or something. Half of them were fighting with the teacher or something." Logan shrugged. "She really shouldn't be telling me this stuff – we can use it to our advantage."

"She trusts you." The son of Hades gave his honest opinion, hands drifting away from his tie to swing casually at his sides. "Fahra is like that with people she considers friends and family."

"Friends…" A small smile appeared on Logan's face. "So, I'm her friend."

"Congrats, Knave." Nico joked, nudging the Stuart in the side with his elbow. "You are now friends with a crazy person." The blonde snorted, letting out a laugh.

"And you're not?"

"I'm just as crazy." Nico said, grinning. "I just don't show it as often."

"Do you miss her?" Logan asked, coming to a halt outside his first class. Nico still had a bit of way to go to reach his.

"'Course I do. I miss Thalia and Ethan, as well." The younger boy frowned slightly, before a smile came across his features. "But I have friends here. I've got English, though, and if I'm late, Murdoch'll kill me." He pulled a face, before darting off. "See ya!"

"Bye!" Logan called after him, laughing.

XoooX

"Where's Puck? I haven't seen him since yesterday and I need him to get me a churro." Santana stated.

"I haven't seen Thalia since lunch…" Ethan added. "It's like she's vanished off the face of the earth.

"Or getting it on with Puckerman." Sanatana suggested, waggling her eyebrows. Ethan turned green and Fahra burst out laughing, nearly falling off her seat. Tina managed to keep her sitting upright, rolling her eyes at the girl.

"My guess is he'd rather quit Glee Club than lose Sectionals and I can't blame him. Our set's gon' be real light on the Mercedes." Mercedes added, ignoring the fact that Mr Schue was standing right at the front of the room.

"I'm telling you, if the Warblers win Sectionals, it's only because we gave them Kurt. We should not clap." Tina stated, which caused Fahra to stop in her laughing and glare.

"They're, like, some of my best friends!" She protested. "This is not good sportsmanship! And, even without Kurt, they're talented." Tina looked like she wanted to protest, but Brittany cut in.

"If we lose, we should throw possums."

Everyone's attention was towards Rachel at that point, as she had walked in with duct tape across her mouth.

"That's an improvement." Ethan muttered, gaining himself a high five from Sam.

"Rachel, what are you doing?" Mr Schue asked, bewildered.

"That's what everyone wants to know." Fahra said, rolling her eyes. Rachel peeled off the duct tape.

"I'm not doing anything. You've silenced my talents, I'm merely protesting." Rachel reapplied the duct tape, then realised she wanted to say more, so peeled it off again. "My talents are wasted in this club. My star shines too bright and I think you're threatened by it."

Mr Schue seemed to have reached the end of his tether, slamming down the music sheets he was looking at in frustration and his voice reached a louder decibel.

"Take that off! I'm tired of this Rachel! You have a terrible attitude, you're a lousy sport, and it is not okay anymore!" Rachel looked shocked, but stood up and yelled back.

"Well I'm upset! I'm furious about this, about a couple of things actually!"

"I'm sorry you're disappointed, but you know, you could also make the choice to be happy, that we're a part of a glee club that is bursting at the seams with talent. There's an awful lot of 'me' talk going around. 'What's in it for me?' 'What solo am I gonna sing?' Now, when we go to Sectionals, we're gonna be good sports. We'll cheer on the Hipsters, we'll cheer on Kurt and the Warblers, and if they win we will congratulate them, because that's who we are." Fahra nodded in agreement with her teacher's words.

"Dude, where have you been?" Everyone's attention was drawn to the entrance of the choir room where Puck and Thalia were standing. Puck looked rather dishelved. Santana let out a snort, and Thalia glared at her.

"I found him in a porta potty." Thalia elaborated. This caused one or two eyebrows to rise in disbelief. "It's the truth!"

"I was trying to find an extra singer like you wanted me to, Mr Schue." Puck said. "Then the football club locked me in there."

"He was delusional when I got him out." Thalia imputed, ignoring Puck's accusing look. "Thought I was an angel. Idiot."

Mr Schue looked thoughtful, though. Puck elbowed Thalia, who elbowed back.

"Thalia, would you like a solo?" Mr Schue said. Thalia, who was in the middle of scolding Puck, froze.

"Wait, what?"

"You're joking!" Rachel had stood up again, temper rising. "You cannot give her a solo and deny me one! I deserve to be in the spotlight!"

"Oh, will you shut up!" Fahra yelled back. "You are not the star of this club! If you haven't noticed, there are fourteen people here, not just one person!"

"Be quiet!" Thalia snapped. Fahra quietened, looking abashed. Rachel glared, retaking her seat, sending daggers at Thalia. The girl turned to face her teacher, eyes curious. "Why me? Why not someone who has been here longer?"

"What a better way to show off our talent, then by showing someone who hasn't been in the club so long?" Mr Schue said, on a roll. "The Warblers have already heard Fahra, so that's out."

"I'm cool with that." Fahra said, nodding.

"Why not Ethan?" Thalia questioned.

"I'm not singing solo." The boy butted in. "No way. I wouldn't do it if you paid me."

"Your voice is amazing, Thals." Puck said, resting a hand on her shoulder, causing her to start slightly. "Go for it."

"Ok. I'll do it." Thalia's resolve hardened, before she turned to look at Fahra. "I'll need your help, Fahra, for picking out a song."

"Aye aye, captain." Fahra shot her a jaunty salute. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"So, we're on." Mr Schue grinned as Thalia and Puck retook their seats. "Now, for the duet, I was thinking…"

XoooX

"Holy crap! Fahra!" The girl turned from where she was observing the pictures Logan had pinned up over his desk, positively beaming.

"Wotcher, Lo!"

"How on earth did you get in here?" Logan crossed his arms. "We have _key cards_ for God's sake!"

"Ask no questions, I'll tell you no lies." Fahra grinned, before returning to looking at the pictures. "Who's that?"

Logan came to the conclusion that he could not win in an argument against Fahra, and looked over at the picture she was looking at. He smiled slightly as the memories returned. He was in the middle, smiling, Julian on his left, sunglasses hiding his eyes, a brilliant smile on his face. Derek had been caught in the middle of a laugh, eyes crinkled at the corners. Fahra was observing both of the dark haired boys closely.

"That's Derek." Logan said, gesturing to the boy to the right of him in the picture. "He's here right now, probably in the common room. He does rowing, sports, you know, usual stuff. The other one's Julian. I thought you'd recognise him from TV?" Fahra shook her head.

"I don't watch much TV. I'm more of a book kind of girl."

"He plays Grant Townsend in Something Damaged. He's in LA, filming at the moment. I don't know when he'll show up again." Logan said, leaning back slightly.

"You look so happy." Fahra murmured, Logan barely catching the words. "You all do."

"They're my best friends." Logan replied. "They have been since freshman year."

"That's a long time." Fahra said. "I've only been friends with Thalia and Nico recently. Like, last year, I think. I've been friends with Ethan much longer, though. Since I was eight." She looked sad at that, but Logan didn't question it, merely placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it in comfort.

"Any reason you're here?" He asked. Fahra shook her head.

"I just couldn't stand being in the same room as most of the glee club for much longer." She sighed. "Everyone's fighting again. They're so self-centred – they forget the fact that we're a club, not a one man band. It seems that only Ethan, Thalia, Puck and I are the ones who don't actually care whose soloing or whatever. I'm congratulating you on your early victory." Fahra clapped, albeit half-heartedly. "We can't even work together. We're doomed."

"You'll do fine." Logan said, directing Fahra out of his room. "I'm sure whoever is up front will be amazing. For now, we need to get you out of Dal – oh, hi Derek." The two stopped as a tall boy, with dark hair and eyes, blocked their path in the hallway, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm assuming this is Fahra." He said. Fahra nodded. "Di Angelo warned me that you might be infiltrating Stuart. I don't know how you did it, though."

"I'm just a slight genius." Fahra informed him, mood picking up slightly.

"Modest, too." Derek said, the corners of his lips tilting upwards. Fahra smiled back. "You really should be leaving, though."

"I was just showing her the way out. Come on, Rose."

"Bye, Red King!" Fahra called back, laughing at the Stuart's indignant 'hey'.

"How d'you know the Tweedles call him that?" Logan asked.

"I'll leave that for you to figure out, Knave." She replied cheekily, winking at him.

XoooX

"So, this is a normal thing?" Nico was sprawled out on the floor beneath the beanbag Dwight was laying on, eating popcorn, amulets and holy water spritzer close by.

"Yep." He commented, holding out the bowl to Nico, who took a handful of popcorn, methodically biting off the smaller part, before putting the whole thing into his mouth and chewing. Dwight looked at him, amused. "This a normal thing for you to do?"

"It annoyed Thalia to no end. She's more of a eat it and go kind of person." He replied idly, watching as Blaine grabbed the second Harry Potter film. "Oh gods, no. I can't stand the second one."

"Why?" Dwight looked mildly offended – Nico knew he had a slightly unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. When the son of Hades had told the hunter he hadn't seen the films and had only read the first book, Dwight had flipped and loaned him the second book, which Nico had finished already. He was half way through the third.

"Lockhart." Nico replied, resting his head on the beanbag. "He makes me want to bash my head into a wall repeatedly."

"Ah, that makes a lot of sense, actually." Dwight nodded in agreement as Blaine pressed play on the remote and the opening scene came on. "I like the basilisk, though."

"Giant snake things are cool, mostly." Nico said in agreement. "Unless they're trying to eat you, of course. Not that I've ever experienced that."

"Shhh!" The boys protested, throwing pillows at the two who tried to stop the popcorn they were sharing from flying all over Blaine's room.

The two boys grew silent, only now and then munching on popcorn, Dwight eating it a handful at a time, Nico still using his methodical way.

They were about halfway through the sixth one when everyone but the two boys was asleep. Nico grabbed the remote from Wes' loose grip and turned the TV off.

"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Dwight whispered, the empty popcorn bowl now on the floor.

"I can't sleep." Nico said. "I'm a bit of an insomniac. Whenever I do sleep, I get up a couple of hours later. It's about midnight. I can stay up longer."

"Shouldn't you see a doctor about it?"

"No, not really. Self-help methods – I just forgot about them. Normally it's just trying to relax myself beforehand. Or avoiding caffeine." Nico said, before curling up, head resting on the side on the beanbag. "I'll attempt to fall asleep, alright?"

"M'kay." Dwight said, closing his eyes and falling into a comfortable position.

The two boys were asleep quite quickly, the only sounds in Windsor house being the quiet snores and Dwight's occasional sleep talking.

XoooX

"What are you doing?"

"Texting Logan." Fahra replied. "Everyone is being moody – apparently, the Warblers aren't supposed to talk en route to sectionals. So, yeah, he's texting me instead."

"Doesn't he have friends from Dalton?" Puck asked from where he sat next to Ethan in the seats behind Thalia and Fahra.

"Yeah, I saw pictures." Fahra chirped. "Derek's busy, though, along with Julian, so he's texting me, because no one else is talking." She gestured around the bus with her free hand, where everyone else was sitting quietly, looking as though they'd prefer to be back at school. The phone beeped and Fahra looked at the message, laughing.

"What?" Ethan asked, head showing up below Puck's, who had to move up slightly to make more room.

"Reed just choked on a skittle, apparently." Fahra giggled. "Accident prone, that one is."

"Maybe he'll fall over and then we'll actually have a chance." Came Rachel's moody voice.

"Shut up, Hobbit." Fahra snapped back. "For gods sakes, we have just as much chance of winning as anyone – smile!" No one did. "Well, that pep talk failed."

"All your pep talks fail." Thalia replied casually. "Has Nico not texted you?"

"He'll be texting the Tweedles and such and such." Fahra commented. "Logan isn't friends with many of the Windsors, it's sad. He has a picture of himself, Eeth and Evan when they were younger, but that's about it. The rest are of him, Julian, Derek and his parents, more of his step-mom."

"How do you know so much about Logan?" Puck asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't skip school that much."

"He's a boarder." Fahra said. "I figured out how to break into Stuart House the other day. Now he offers me lattes and we talk about stuff, mostly friends and family. Derek joins us on occasion, but Julian's currently in LA."

"Why?" Ethan asked. Fahra shrugged.

"Dunno." She did know, but decided that, if she told them that Julian was the Julian Larson, they'd probably freak or something.

There was silence for a while, before Fahra's phone beeped. She checked the message, smiling slightly.

"They're there." She said. "Knave believes he won't be able to text again."

"'Knave'?" Puck asked, bemused.

"The Tweedles give everyone a Wonderland name, if they pique their interest or something. I'm Rose." Fahra added. "Ethan's the White King and Thalia's the Eaglet."

"Guys, we're here." Mr Schue called, causing Fahra to put her phone back in her bag, the glee club slowly exiting the bus.

XoooX

"I'm freaking out. I'm freaking out. Oh my gods, why did I agree to this?" Thalia was, to put it mildly, panicking. It didn't help that the rest of the glee club were arguing over something pointless.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Ethan suggested, pulling Thalia up. Fahra got up too. "We're getting some fresh air, guys." No one responded, so the three left the room.

"Tension's so thick in there; you cut could it with a knife." Fahra stated as they wandered down the halls.

"Guys, can we do something so my voice doesn't die on me out there?" Thalia suggested, hands trembling.

"I'm yours?" Ethan suggested.

"I'm yours." Fahra agreed, before Fahra began to start the intro to the song, 'do-do' –ing and Ethan launched into the first verse.

_Well, you dawned on me and you bet I felt it_

_I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted_

_I fell right through the cracks_

_Now I'm trying to get back_

Fahra smiled slightly, before singing along to the second part of it, ignorant to the sound of footsteps down the hall.

_Before the cool dawn run out_

_I'll be giving it my bestes_

_And nothing's gonna stop me but divine intervention_

_I reckon it's again my turn_

_To win some or learn some_

The two opened their mouths to begin to sing the chorus together, but a different voice joined in. The trio turned to see a beaming Nico di Angelo, kitted out in his Warbler uniform. Behind him were the Windsors and Logan, who were now performing the backing vocals, allowing Fahra to squeal happily, tackling Evan into a hug as Nico sang.

_I won't hesitate_

_No more, no more_

_It cannot wait,_

_I'm yours_

Blaine stopped the back-up, beginning to sing the second verse along with Thalia as Fahra and Ethan attempted to follow Nico's instructions and help with the backing vocals.

_Well, open up your mind and see like me_

_Open up your plans and damn you're free_

_Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love, love_

_Listen to the music of the moment, people dance and sing, we're just one big family_

_And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved_

Then the Tweedles pulled the two dark haired singers back into the group, both of them singing the chorus.

_So I won't hesitate_

_No more, no more._

_It cannot wait,_

_I'm sure._

_There's no need to complicate,_

_Our time is short._

_This is our fate,_

_I'm yours._

Wes sang the next two lines to Thalia, causing Fahra to laugh. The entire group didn't notice the three adults who were peering out of the doors, staring in awe at the little group.

_Do you want to come on, scootch on over closer, dear_

_And I will nibble your ear_

Logan decided to sing the third verse, Fahra joining in.

_I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror_

_And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer_

_But my breath fogged up the glass_

_And so I drew a new face and I laughed_

Ethan sang the next part, flinging an arm over Reed and Kurt's shoulders, prompting them to sing along with him.

_I guess what I've been saying is there ain't no better reason_

_To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons_

_It's what we aim to do_

_Our name is our virtue_

Thalia sang the chorus by herself.

_But I won't hesitate_

_No more, no more._

_It cannot wait,_

_I'm yours._

The entire group sang the next part together, a bit haphazardly, but they enjoyed it, they were having fun. The mentors of their groups were watching on, smiling slightly.

_Well, open up your mind and see like me_

_Open up your plans and damn you're free_

_Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours_

_So please don't, please don't, please don't._

_There's no need to complicate_

_'Cause our time is short_

_This oh, this oh, this is our fate,_

_I'm yours_

_Oh, I'm yours_

_Oh, I'm yours_

_Oh, oh,_

_Baby, do you believe, I'm yours?_

_You best believe, best believe, I'm yours_

They finished and Fahra took the opportunity to launch herself at Nico, who squeaked and nearly crashed to the floor, causing most of the Warblers to laugh.

"Guys, that was amazing!" Thalia exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I should say so." The sound of Harvey's voice cut through the excited babble that was coming from Fahra's lips and then the little group realised they had an audience of three, possibly including the rest of New Directions and the Warblers.

"I was wondering where you three had gotten to." Mr Schue said, gesturing to Fahra, Thalia and Ethan. "I thought I was going to have to go on without three of my performers."

"Thalia was freaking out, like majorly." Fahra said. "We decided to sing to loosen her up. These guys joined in."

"We were getting our stuff from the green room, when we heard Fahra singing." Nico explained. "Decided we might as well join in."

"Well, we're on in five minutes." Mr Schue said. "You'll be wanting to take your seats, and we need to get back stage."

"'Kay – we'll see you guys later!" Fahra gave Logan a final hug, before darting off after Mr Schue and the two teens, who were already quite far ahead. Logan smiled fondly after the younger girl, who was bouncing excitedly next to Ethan, before following the other Warblers to their seats.

XoooX

Kurt had only ever heard Thalia sing twice, once for her audition, the other a few minutes ago, whilst singing 'I'm yours'. He wasn't sure what to expect, really. The rest of the songs the New Directions had done were upbeat, so he assumed that Thalia would be doing one too. After 'Valerie', which Santana had pulled off amazingly, the group went off stage, apart from Thalia, who was standing in the centre of the stage.

She looked extremely pale, her hands clenched tightly around the microphone. Kurt couldn't help but smile slightly as he saw she was wearing leather boots instead of the shoes the other girls wore. The sound of an electric guitar blared through the speakers and Thalia raised the microphone after a few seconds and began to sing.

_Beneath empty walls,_

_I've been talking to myself again_

_You don't hear a word_

_Why bother to explain it when_

_You say that I should try_

_But I feel that I'm half alive_

_And the rest of me is somewhere else _

A smile was now coming across Thalia's face and she followed whatever choreography the group had planned out. She had a great stage presense, totally owning the entire space, despite the fact she was up there on her own.

_I wish the world would just spin faster_

_Get to my happy ever after._

_You're looking at me,_

_You're waiting to see the difference,_

_The difference in me._

_And you keep telling me to grow up,_

_But why should I, it's never good enough_

_How could I be when you never see the difference,_

_The difference in me._

He heard Reed whistle, impressed, next to him. Nico nodded, grinning, as though he knew Thalia would completely dominate the song.

_I don't wanta fight_

_Don't care whose right or wrong anymore._

_I'm sick of all this pain_

_Can it be the way it was before_

_When I always made you smile_

_Seems it's been a while_

_'Cause now you're always out of reach_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Logan bite his lip, looking deep in thought. He remembered the incident back stage, before they went on, and glanced at Logan's bandaged hand. He wondered if that was what the Stuart was thinking about. Medel looked impressed at Thalia's performance, so Kurt returned his attention to it.

_I wish the world would just spin faster_

_Get to my happy ever after._

_You're looking at me,_

_You're waiting to see the difference,_

_The difference in me._

_And you keep telling me to grow up,_

_But why should I, it's never good enough_

_How could I be when you never see the difference,_

_The difference in me._

_the difference, the difference in me_

The Tweedles were dancing in their seats, Blaine mouthing along to the words.

_You say that I should try_

_But I feel that I'm half alive_

_And the rest of me is somewhere else_

Slowly, the rest of the group filled the stage behind Thalia, as she sung the chorus on her own.

_I wish the world would just spin faster_

_Get to my happy ever after._

_You're looking at me,_

_You're waiting to see the difference,_

_The difference in me._

_And you keep telling me to grow up,_

_But why should I, it's never good enough_

_How could I be when you never see the difference,_

_The difference in me._

Thalia put all her voice into the final verse, the rest of the group backing her up. He saw Mr Schue smiling and he knew that everything must have gone to plan.

_I changed my hair_

_And I threw out my clothes_

_And you say that you see but you don't notice the difference,_

_The difference, the difference in me._

_I not same as I was before._

_I'm not afraid to walk right out that door._

_See the difference, the difference in me._

Thalia finished to a standing ovation, the Warblers getting up as well and applauding her. She was panting, but beaming as the rest of the group came forward and the entire group bowed as one.

Kurt could honestly say that he was proud of what his friends had done.

XoooX

"Thank you, and thank you to all the groups who performed here today, we all had a serious, good time. You know what else, is a serious good time? Taking two minutes to save a life by filling out an organ donor card, because it's never too late, to donate. Drumroll please. In third place, the Hipsters!" The group leader took their trophy and the group walked off stage. Nico felt anticipation well up in his stomach. He glanced over to the New Directions, catching Fahra's eyes. She grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "Thank you, drive carefully. And now, the winner of this year's west central Sectionals is… it's a tie."

There was silence and a smattering of whispers broke out.

"It's a tie?"

"Has that even happened before?"

"Is it possible?"

Even the audience was silent and it was Fahra who, effectively, broke it, fist pumping the air and letting out a cry of "We won!"

She turned a brilliant shade of red and everyone laughed, the audience breaking into a round of applause. Confetti flew everywhere and the directors of the group shook hands with each other.

The two show choirs merged into one, all of the New Directions engulfing Kurt and Nico in hugs, Fahra pouncing at the Tweedles, who hoisted her up in between them, cheering, the girl laughing in joy.

"Guys, these are my friends!" Kurt said, the boys of the New Directions with him.

"We've heard a lot about most of you." Puck said, grinning as he pointed at Fahra, who waved at him from her perch.

Kurt introduced each of the Warblers to the members of the New Directions while the adults watched on.

They soon burst into a random rendition of 'The Dog Days Are Over', laughing so hard that the Tweedles had to put Fahra down or she would have fallen of their shoulders due to her laughter.

"Guys, we've got to pack up and head off!" Mr Schue called over. Fahra let out a whine in protest, gripping Logan's blazer. The blonde rolled his eyes.

"Fahra…"

"Logan." She replied, blinking up at him with big, innocent eyes.

"Go." He said, pushing her towards Mr Schue, who was smiling at her, rolling his eyes. "Or you'll miss your ride home."

"I could stay at Dalton!" She chirped, and then pouted when everyone laughed at her. "Nice to know I'm appreciated. I'll see you guys…whenever, I guess. Bye!" She bounded off after Mr Schue.

Nico sighed, before turning back. Who he saw made him freeze, eyes darting towards Kurt, who looked as though he had seen a ghost.

It was David Karofsky.

"What is it?" That was Blaine. Nico made his way over to the group, almost making a protective shield. But it wasn't enough."Kurt, what's wrong?"

The other Warblers in the area started to look. Blaine turned around and followed Kurt's vision. He was staring at the boy in the jacket in the audience, now moving to exit, but never breaking eye-contact with Kurt.

"Kurt, you're scaring me," Reed whispered, tugging on Kurt's sleeve. "What is it?"

Blaine took two strides and was next to Kurt, getting closer than Nico could. "Kurt," he grabbed his other hand. "Don't look at him. Don't look at him—look at me." He shook his arm. "Look at me, Kurt!"

Trembling, Kurt turned to look at Blaine, breath coming short, nodding shakily.

"Is that him?" David demanded to no one in particular as he stood near him. "Is that the guy?" Nico nodded sharply.

The twins were now stood on either side of Kurt now, glaring at Karofsky. The Warblers stood protectively around Kurt, looking at Karofsky right back, until he made it to the exit, and vanished.

"Come on," said Blaine gently. "Don't let him get to you. You're safe now, remember? You're safe—it's okay."

"I—I nearly got him expelled…" Kurt stammered. "What if he—"

"He won't do anything." Nico said his voice gentle. "You're safe. You're with us."

Kurt looked at Blaine and whispered, "…he said he was going to kill me, Blaine."

All the Warblers now turned to Kurt, including Nico, who was staring at him with shocked eyes. This was new information. "He said what?" Blaine demanded.

"He…" Reed had turned as pale as snow.

Wes and David were moving across the stage with fierce strides now and the twins leapt forward and grabbed their arms. "Whoa! Hey! Stop—stop! Don't go there, guys!"

"Go there?" Wes demanded. "That guy's been there and back! And he shows up here to see Kurt?"

"Don't do this now! He's gone!" Evan snapped. "He didn't do anything here. Come on!"

David shrugged free of Ethan's grasp and glared at him.

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Blaine said firmly to Kurt, voice rising. "All you told me was that he was shoving you and making fun of you and downright terrifying you and the incident in the locker room, and now—" He stopped, as it suddenly hit him. "…that was it. That was it, wasn't it? That's the reason you left. …he threatened to kill you…" Blaine stared at him, shock evident in his features.

Kurt swallowed, lowering his eyes, calming a little. "…yes. It was that. I nearly—I nearly got him expelled for it and…" he choked, forcing himself to become calm, though struggling to do so. "…the school board overturned it. He was coming back and I…I had to leave." He moved a hand through his hair, as though he were trying to compose himself. "...I couldn't tell you. I just...I couldn't."

"Calm down, Kurt." Nico placed a hand on his shoulder, looking Kurt directly in the eye. "We won't let him hurt you. We won't. I promise." _Remember what I am_, he though fiercely, as though Kurt could read his mind. _Remember what I can do to him_.

Reed put an arm around Kurt in a comforting gesture. "Let's go. He's gone, you're okay. Let's go back to the greenroom and…give you something to calm you down." He led him offstage, Nico following closely.

The rest of the Warblers followed them, all continuously looking back towards where the boy who had hurt Kurt so much had once stood, all wishing they could have done something about it.

XoOoX

And it's done! That was an extremely quick update, to apologise for how long it took me to complete the last chapter.

Most of the text from the part about Karofsky was taken directly from 'Dalton', so I do not own it.

More Puck/Thalia romance there. Thalia is completely oblivious; Puck's beginning to fall for her. And Fahra now knows about Jules and has successfully infiltrated Stuart House.

So, yeah. Next up shall be the Christmas episode and the snow in at Dalton, me thinks.

Read and review, and help yourself to either Percy or Kurt's cookies! ~ Jazz xxx


	7. A Very Glee Christmas (IM-ing)

"Puck, stop feeding Thalia the popcorn!" Rachel snapped as Puck ignored her, unthreading some popcorn and throwing it at Thalia, who opened her mouth and caught it expertly.

"Mmm, delish." She complimented, smiling devilishly at Rachel, who looked as though she wanted to strangle the hunter. "Why do you hang popcorn on Christmas trees, anyway? Seems like a waste of perfectly good food to me."

"Dunno." Fahra hummed, hanging some tinsel over the doorway to the choir room, balancing precariously on the stack of books she was using as a step ladder.

"Fahra, get down from there and let Finn hang the tinsel!" Rachel exclaimed, only now realising that her choir mate was in danger of falling and injuring herself.

"Too late." Ethan commented, wincing as Fahra jumped off the books and nearly tumbled into the Christmas tree, only managing to balance herself by grabbing onto Mercedes' shoulder. "Fahra, quit scaring people."

"Never!" She crowed back, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "It's way too much fun."

"It's a bad habit of hers." Thalia whispered to Quinn, who was staring in slight confusion at the younger girl, who was currently bouncing around the room as though she had too much caffeine in her system. "We tried to wean it out of her – it didn't work. She was in depression for days, hiding under her covers and screaming whenever we tried to take them off."

"O…kay…"

"Don't attempt to understand, Quinn." Ethan said consolingly. "You won't be able too."

"Hey, Thalia." Thalia turned around and stared at Percy and Annabeth who were peering into the choir room. "Love what you've done with the place. Not enough blue, though."

"Percy, why are you here after school?" Ethan asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Normally you're at home, tapping the fish tank and attempting to get the fish out of the little boat you bought."

"I suggested we come and see what, exactly, you do. 'Cause we missed your performance at Sectionals. Nico doesn't want to see us, because he's moody like that." Annabeth said, striding into the room and peering at the tree. "Your star's broken."

"I got it from the guy next door. He finally killed off his elderly mother." Santana said casually. "When they carted him off, they left the door wide open. I think she was a holiday hoarder."

"Guys, what is this?" Everyone turned to see Mr Schue standing in the doorway, staring in confusion at the Christmas tree.

"We're trying to get into the Christmas spirit." Finn explained. "It's, like, my favourite holiday."

"Guys, this is great and all, but it's not really what Christmas is about." The teacher said.

"For us it is." Mercedes responded. "This tree is like a mascot for glee club. We've won Sectionals two years in a row and still according to everyone at this school, we still suck."

"So true." Thalia agreed.

"I'm sure they just added food colouring to the slush in the parking lot." Mike said.

"No, guys, I'm not allowing you to throw yourselves a pity party!" Mr Schue turned and realised Percy and Annabeth were standing there awkwardly.

"Uh, we'll just…y'know, go." Percy grabbed Annabeth's wrist and dragged her out of the choir room. "Ethan, Fahra, Thalia, we'll see you later!"

"Bye!" Fahra called after them, slightly oblivious to the fact that Mr Schue wanted to give them a lecture.

"I'm the first one to say that things haven't turned out exactly as I would have liked them to. But Christmas is about being grateful for all of the things that we have and did."

"I thought that was thanksgiving." Puck earned himself an elbow in the side from Thalia for that comment.

"But this year, glee club is going to lend a hand to homeless children." Mr Schue looked rather pleased at that. Fahra and Ethan exchanged looks and beamed. They'd been homeless for a few years when they were younger, so this would be brilliant.

"How, exactly, are we going to do that?" Rachel asked.

"The one way we know how – by singing!" Mr Schue said, on a roll. Everyone else stared. "Think about it – we'll go classroom to classroom carol singing to raise money."

"Wait, classrooms in this schools with, like, students in them?" Tina looked apprehensive.

"Well, if there are no students in them, there'll be no one to put money in the collection box."

"We're gonna be killed." Santana deduced.

"No guys, it's cool." Finn said. "It's Christmas, a time for miracles. We've got to try this."

"Well, then, let's start rehearsing!" Mr Schue said, smiling. "This year, glee club is going full Santa."

XoooX

"What do you mean, we're snowed in?"

"Exactly what I said – we're snowed in." Dwight said, sighing at Nico's shocked expression as he opened the curtains on his window and looked at the blank white wall which greeted him.

"I've never seen so much snow before." He admitted.

"Not to mention the fact Blaine's ill." Nico turned to stare at Reed.

"Wait, what? Why did I not know this? Why did no one tell me this?" Nico looked accusingly at Dwight, who raised both hands in surrender.

"You woke up half an hour ago and got dressed slowly, as no one else had called you up as they normally would've." Dwight explained. "I literally just managed to tell you that we were snowed in."

"Do we have medicine?"

"No, the Tweedles –"

"Hold that thought." Nico stuck his head out of his room. "Evan and Ethan, don't even THINK about trekking across the grounds to get to the hospital place. You were saying?"

"How are we going to get the correct medicine?" Reed panicked.

"Get Kurt to get some from Stuart – Logan'll give him it, trust me."

Reed ran off to do as he was told. Nico and Dwight made their way down to the common room, where the TV was playing some movie and Wes and David were curled up under blankets with mugs a hot chocolate, trying to stay warm.

"They went outside?"

"They went outside." Dwight confirmed, sighing. "I think that's the last of our hot chocolate powder, too. We barely have any tinned food in, as well. I have no idea how long this snow's going to stay for, not to mention it's like a blizzard out there."

"Well, that's brilliant." Nico sighed, and then an idea crossed his mind. "Wait a sec – Dwight, do you have anything hard and waterproof?"

"My folder? Nico, what –"

"Where is it?"

"In the common room – Nico, what the hell are you doing?"

"Trust me on this one; I know what I'm doing." Nico said, darting back into the kitchen with the red folder in his hand. Wes and David followed, along with Reed, all three looking curious. He turned the cold water tap on full blast and jammed the folder, now free of paper, beneath it, causing a spray of water to fly out across the kitchen, creating a mist.

"Nico, how is this going to – what is that?" Dwight's eyes bugged out of his head as Nico took out a cookie sized gold coin from his jumper pocket.

"Only to be used in emergencies – well, this is one." Nico muttered, tossing the coin into the spray. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering…"

XoooX

"Well, that went well." Thalia remarked sarcastically.

"She threw a shoe at me." Fahra looked traumatized. Never mind the fact she'd been in a war, the shoe could freak her out. "What kind of teacher throws a shoe at you?"

"One who hates our singing." Quinn supplied, looking at Fahra's forehead, where a student had thrown a rubber at it. "Ouch, that rubber was hard, wasn't it?"

"It was very hard." Fahra grumbled.

"Uh…guys, what the heck is that?" Finn pointed behind Fahra's head and everyone turned. Rachel let out a strangled scream. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Nico. Why, exactly, are you IM-ing us? In the middle of school? IN GLEE CLUB?"

Nico looked sheepish. There were a group of equally shocked boys behind him, just staring.

"We're snowed in."

"AND YOU COULDN'T TELL US THAT OVER THE PHONE? ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Of course he is." Fahra piped up, letting out an 'eep' as Thalia glared at her. She darted behind Finn, who was staring in shock.

"We don't have medicine, and Blaine's really ill. Oh, not to mention no food."

"You have a little thing known as shadow travel." Thalia said through gritted teeth. Nico's eyes brightened.

"Uh…I forgot about it?" He whimpered, cowering under Thalia's rage.

"YOU FORGOT? HOW COULD YOU FORGET, DEATH BREATH? YOU ARE THE SON OF HADES AND YOU FORGOT YOU COULD SHADOW TRAVEL?"

"Thalia, calm down." Ethan placed a hand on Thalia's shoulder as the girl took deep, calming breaths. "Nico, you should know better than to IM us before four. You know that people can see."

"I thought they couldn't see through the mist." He said sheepishly. Thalia looked riled up, but it seemed as though Artie had gained the use of his voice again.

"What, exactly, is going on? This isn't normal. And what do you mean, shadow travel? Is it a game or something?"

"Well, good going, Nico. You have successfully blown our cover." Thalia said in a false sweet voice which meant death. The three demi-gods shuddered.

"Sorry? I'll just…"

"Leave the IM up. Might as well explain to two groups at – why is Kurt climbing through the window?"

"Logan!" Fahra chirruped happily as the two taller boys stared at the IM.

"Is this part of the demi-god package I haven't seen?" Kurt commented drily. Everyone stared at him.

"You knew?" Dwight whispered, staring. "You knew they weren't…weren't…"

"All human. Yeah, he did." Fahra said, sighing. She sat down on a chair. No one had noticed Mr Schue standing in the door way, looking as though he had expected this to happen. "Well, the games up. We're demi-gods. Half human, half – well, god."

"Why don't you do something, then?" Mercedes looked scandalised. "Why don't you make everyone stop hating us?"

"Because we can't, ok?" Thalia snapped. Fahra looked close to tears. "We aren't that powerful. We can't control people's minds."

"Wait- you said 'gods'." Quinn observed. She appeared to be taking this rather well, though her hands were clenched tightly into fists, knuckles turning white. "What gods?"

"Greek gods." Thalia said.

"So the monsters are real, too? Like the gods?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. But don't say the names – bad things tend to happen when you say the names." Ethan said. Dwight looked as though he were about to faint.

"You've been lying to us about your parents!" Finn realised. "You said they were dead!"

"They are dead!" Fahra yelled, bursting into tears. "My dad died when I was eight! You don't accuse someone of – of lying about their family!" She took a deep, shuddering breath. "My mom is as good as dead. I don't see her ever. She has godly duties and such. I've never had a real family. You're lucky." She looked at Finn straight in the eye. "You have a mom who cares about you, and a step-dad who treats you as though you were his own son. You're so lucky, and you take it for granted." Puck had taken a seat next to Fahra and, as though it would burn him, wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"All of us have lost our mortal parents." Nico said, glaring at Finn, who looked ashamed. "Some of us didn't really know them, but Fahra was close to her dad."

"I have his pocket watch. I keep it in my-my drawer." She stammered against Puck's chest. "I'm sorry, I'm being stupid."

"It's not." Ethan sat on the other side of Fahra, rubbing a hand up and down her back.

"Who are your parents, then?" Eeth, who had been silent up until this moment, asked. "Your godly ones, I mean."

"Thalia already mentioned Nico – a son of Hades, god of the underworld." Ethan smirked slightly.

"When you said you'd set a pack of the undead on us…" Wes had paled. "Oh my God, you actually meant it!"

"I could if I wanted to – but I won't. I like you guys too much." Nico said. "Thalia is a daughter of Zeus, god of thunder, not to mention king of the gods."

"I'm almighty and powerful." She said. "Not to mention a hunter of Artemis – immortal and sworn off men." Puck's expression turned downcast, but changed to normal in a split second.

"I'm a son of Nemesis, goddess of revenge." Ethan explained. "Fahra's mom is Hecate, goddess of magic."

"That's how you got into Stuart!" Logan let out a breathless laugh, as though in disbelief. "You used magic."

"You mastered teleportation?" Thalia turned to see Fahra peeking out between Puck's arms, giggling watery. "And you didn't tell me?"

"It was an accident, actually." Fahra said, shoulders shaking with laughter. "I didn't mean to – I was just like 'I wish I could figure out how to break into Stuart' and I was in Logan's room. It was cool."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mercedes asked.

"Would you have believed us? 'Hi, I'm Thalia, and my dad's Zeus. Mess with me, and you'll get hit by lightning.'" Thalia said sarcastically. "If this IM wasn't here now, would you believe us?"

"IM?" Reed piped up.

"Iris message." Thalia clarified. "Only supposed to be used in emergencies. Nico just forgot about the fact he could shadow travel – blend into the shadows and travel to wherever."

"Son of Hades power." Ethan said. "He also talks to the dead."

"That's so creepy." Dwight shuddered, hand instinctively moving towards where a medallion was hung around his neck.

"Nico, shouldn't you be getting medicine and food?" Fahra piped up.

"Oh, yeah." And with that, Nico had vanished into the shadows, causing everyone to start, Dwight letting out a slight scream.

"We aren't going to hurt you, you know." Fahra said. "If we wanted to, we would've already. You'd be able to see if we wanted to hurt you – you can all see through the mist, which is odd."

"That's twice you've mentioned mist." Mike pointed out. "What do you mean?"

"It blocks out our world from the mortal world. Some mortals are born with the power to see through it – like Percy's mom, and Mr Schue."

"Mr Schue can see through this mist?" Tina questioned.

"I can." Everyone started as their teacher decided to join in the conversation. "But I didn't know that this was possible." He gestured to the Iris message.

"And I'm back." Nico had appeared from a wall, startling everyone. His arms were laden with food and medicine. "Kurt, grab that will you – thanks. And I'll shove this here –"The food was dropped onto a countertop. "As lovely as this conversation has been, I think our time is running out." Nico said cheerily. "I'll see you guys later."

"I'm gonna kill you, di Angelo." Thalia muttered as he waved his hand through the mist, cutting off the connection. She turned to look at the rest of glee club, who were still staring. "So…carol rehearsal, anyone?"

XoooX

Dwight had been avoiding Nico continuously.

It was odd, the son of Hades thought, as he walked into his room without messing up salt lines, to see no amulets hung up on coat hangers or to see the younger boy squirting holy water around the room.

Nico missed it. Dwight was his best friend, believe it or not.

Everyone else who had been in the kitchen that day had taken it well. The Tweedles stated that them being demi-gods explained a lot, Kurt already knew and Logan said he'd heard worse, then offered to buy him coffee. Eventually, Reed, Wes and David had warmed up to it. Blaine just had to be told and he didn't care. Apparently, the Tweedles were much worse than a group of demi-gods.

But Nico missed Dwight, and their conversations about monsters and demons, and his incessant ramblings about Harry Potter, and how he always carried around his holy water spritzer. Dwight was like a brother to him and, to be honest, he's rather have him not know and still be his friend, then have him know and leave him alone.

Nico decided he wouldn't stand for it anymore and opened the door to Dwight's room and stared as he saw the pale boy sitting on his bed, reading up on Greek myths. The boy turned his head and smiled, albeit warily, at Nico.

"Hey, Nico."

"Dwight." Nico stepped over the salt line and sat on the bed beside Dwight, who didn't flinch. He saw the page Dwight was reading – about Hades. "Why are you reading that?"

"I want to know why I can see your auras." He explained. "I-I couldn't see them through that Iris message. I want to know why."

"Any luck?"

"None so far." Dwight slammed the book shut, frustrated, causing Nico to jump. "Maybe everyone's right. Maybe I'm insane."

"You aren't, Dwight." Nico said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe this is something new – back in the times of ancient Greece, they didn't have swords which turned into ballpoint pens, but that's now Percy's signature weapon." Dwight hummed in slight agreement.

"Yeah, maybe." He looked at Nico. "What, exactly, do you deal with, then? If you're a son of Hades, I mean. The book talks all about the underworld – Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, that kind of stuff. But where do you come in?"

"I can control the earth – what's it called, geokinesis, I think. I can use necromancy, though not a lot with the actual bodies because it's a lot more tiring than with ghosts. I also have umbrakinesis, control over shadows and stuff." Nico explained, Dwight wide eyed. "I have normal chores too, though, such as cleaning out my room and playing with the giant three headed dog that guards the underworld."

"Cerberus." Dwight said, nodding. "Wicked. So, do you have a weapon? Like Percy?"

"Yeah, Stygian Iron. Iron mined and forged in the underworld, cooled by the river Styx." He explained at Dwight's confused look. "If I stab a monster with it, it stays in Tartarus longer. Monsters never properly die, they're just sent to Tartarus until they reform again. I could show you it, but you have to be very, very careful – unlike Percy's sword, it can hurt you."

"Why wouldn't Percy's sword hurt me?"

"It's made of celestial bronze. It only hurts monsters, not mortals."

"I think I'll pass." Dwight commented.

The two sat in silence for a while.

"Hey, Dwight?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being such a good friend."

"No problem."

XoooX

"No, Puck, just because I'm a hunter does not mean I carry around dead animal carcasses." Thalia said for what felt like the millionth time. "Will you shut up about it?"

"I can't though – it's so cool!" The boy was like a dog with a bone, or a five year old. "You must kick ass on a daily basis."

"If you don't shut up, yours will be the next ass to kick on my schedule." She muttered, opening her locker and shoving her silvery jacket in there. Puck took the opportunity to look at the contents of her locker, in particular the picture of three kids.

"Who are they?"

"That's me." She gestured to the girl in the centre, with longer black hair than what she had now, but with the same electric blue eyes and freckles. "The little girls Annabeth and the boy is-is…" Her voice died as she looked at the grinning Luke. Puck sensed he'd hit a sore spot.

"Hey, I'm sorry."

"No, it-it's fine…it's just…he died. Last year." Thalia scrubbed at her eyes furiously, trying to stop her unshed tears from falling. "His name's Luke." Puck wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "He was my best friend for years."

"You didn't have to tell me." He murmured.

"I wanted to." She replied. "We had a good run for a few years. Then I was a tree for a few – long story." She laughed at Puck's confused expression.

"That's a story I definitely want to know." His arm lowered, slipping around her waist and pulling Thalia closer. "Come on – Berry'll have a fit if we're late."

"Maybe we should be late, then." Thalia suggested, grinning mischievously as, after running an index finger almost tenderly over Luke's beaming face, closed her locker. "She might explode."

"That would be a relief for everyone." Puck agreed. "But awfully messy."

"So true."

The two arrived at the choir room five minutes late. Fortunately, Rachel hadn't exploded so there wasn't a mess anywhere. She eyed them both angrily as they took their seats.

"No unexpected guests today, right?" Mr Schue asked.

"Not unless there's another 'emergency' at Dalton." Ethan promised.

"Good, because I nearly had heart failure." Quinn said.

"Everyone did." Sam added.

"Sorry." Thalia smiled, shrugging. "We can't help who we are. Or what craziness happens around us."

"Well, we've decided against carolling, after that last classroom." Mr Schue began.

"I'm scared of rubbers for life now." Fahra inputted helpfully. Ethan shot her a look of disbelief.

"And you're not scared of Hades' wrath?"

"No, not really."

"SO we're going to have song ideas for Regionals." Some cheers went up from the surrounding group.

"Brilliant!" Mercedes was beaming. "Free reign, right Mr Schue?"

"Free reign." The cheers grew louder. "So, any ideas?"

"Um, we've had literally three seconds to think of songs." Thalia pointed out. "I don't think that quickly."

"That would imply you think at all." Ethan commented, ducking when Thalia flung a pen at him. "Don't throw stuff at me!" Thalia retaliated by sticking her tongue out.

"Why are you so…normal?" Quinn asked Fahra in a whisper.

"We're teenagers." Was her response. "Our parents are just really, really important."

XoooX

"Rachel? Wait—Kurt already left to see—" Blaine was talking to Rachel, obviously.

"Blaine, what's wrong, man? You look like someone died," David had just entered the common room, Wes at his side.

Blaine had choked out into the phone, "He's gone—Kurt's gone, he—" he took a shaking breath. "—he thought he got a text from—I'm going now." And he threw off his phone and broke into a run.

"Whoa!" Wes exclaimed, following the shorter boy as fast as he could, David at his heels. "Blaine! Blaine, wait—what's going on?"

"That jock from McKinley—!" Blaine was rushing past his friends, who stared after him. "I think he just called Kurt from someone else's number and he's called him outside!"

"_Shit_!" David hissed. The twins came running down from the staircase, seeing their alarm and looking baffled. "Come on!" Wes shouted out as they leapt over the banisters and followed.

Blaine rushed out the doors. "Kurt!" he cried out the moment he hit the outside air. His fists were clenched and he raced through the grounds, praying desperately that he wasn't too late.

They were a couple of yards off when Dwight, Nico and Reed, having seen their frantic exodus, arrived at the door, breathless.

"What's happening?" Dwight gasped, watching them go.

"I don't know—but we better help!" Reed said, running out into the night air.

"Obviously – come on!" Nico darted out after Reed.

Dwight didn't follow them immediately, and at that moment Logan reached him. Logan had seen the Windsor boys running as though they were racing the wind, and came to see what the commotion was all about. "Dwight—what happened?"

"Something about Kurt being in trouble—Blaine and the others just tore out of here!"

Logan turned back to the house. "Justin! Justin—come here!"

At this, a tall brown-haired boy in a red Dalton pullover looked up, confused. "What—?"

"You're the Hanover prefect, right—keep an eye on this madhouse! We've got an emergency!" Logan followed the rest of the boys, calling back, "And watch your phone! I'll ring when we need the police!"

"Police?" Dwight cried, and immediately darted after him, leaving Justin standing at the entrance to Windsor, looking absolutely confused.

That was how all the boys got to where they were running across grounds, searching anxiously for any sign of Kurt. Blaine stopped for an instant in the middle of one of the gardens, panting—his breath leaving his lips in heavy clouds. "Which way?" panted David, skidding up next to him.

"I don't know," Blaine panted, looking around desperately. There was just no sign of Kurt anywhere, and it was too dark. He turned to the twins, who came running from another direction. "Any sign of him?"

"No," Evan shook his head, breathing hard.

"Not a damn soul," panted Ethan.

"_Shit_!" Wes snarled, pounding his fist on his knee from where he was bent over. "Where the hell is he?"

"Nico, can't you do anything?" Reed turned to face the son of Hades. "You can control shadows, right?"

"Shadows. This is night, darkness." Nico growled, narrowing his eyes. "This sucks. I can't do anything."

"Kurt!" Blaine yelled.

"If he was in trouble, wouldn't he scream?" Dwight asked, looking around the darkness, holding a small flashlight that he kept with himself at all times.

David looked grim. "Yes, but…if he was in trouble, he also might not have been given the chance to."

"Shut _up_, David!" Blaine snapped.

"If he were in grave trouble, I would know." Nico said. "When people…y'know, I get a buzzing in my ears. Nothing like that's happened yet."

"Why did he suddenly come here…?" Reed asked, fearful as he glanced around. "Kurt hasn't done anything to him!"

"Or maybe someone pissed him off," Evan said darkly, and Ethan looked at Logan.

Wes looked at Logan, then back at them and frowned. "What do you mean?"

The twins just kept staring hard at Logan. Logan glared back at them, still breathing deeply from running. Nico stared at the twins, then Logan, and back again. Blaine looked up, his eyes flashing dangerously, and he grabbed the taller boy's lapel with a strong arm. "What did you _do_, Logan?"

"What do you think I did, Blaine?" Logan snarled back, jerking his hand off him. "I did what you couldn't do! I went to him and told him to leave Kurt the hell alone!"

"_What_?" David burst out. "How did you even _know_?"

"I _saw_," Logan said depreciatingly. "I saw how fucking scared to death he looked back onstage when he saw him. I knew that kind of guy would just keep following him so I went after him during Sectionals! I told him to back off!"

"So my _friend_ is out there and it's is all _your_ _fault_?" Wes snarled, lunging at him. Nico immediately grabbed Wes from behind.

"Don't fight! This isn't going to help!" Nico hissed. "We need to act calm – trust me when I say fighting doesn't help." Wes stopped his struggles, still glaring at Logan.

"Hey!" Dwight started yelling. "You guys!"

Wes looked up as he came running. He was holding a printed Hérmes stole.

"Where did you find that?" Reed gasped, recognizing it to be the one he'd given Kurt.

"That way." He pointed to the direction of the sprawling Main. He now looked wildly animated and in control. "He must've gone that way. We've got to split up and search around it. I'll take Reed and Nico. Wes and David, take Blaine, Tweedles take Logan. I don't want to have to be responsible for having to resurrect them if they end up killing each other—I haven't practiced getting souls back yet. And I don't think that's Nico's line of work."

The group split up and ran off.

XoooX

"I heard something." Nico held up a hand and crept through the undergrowth silently. He was used to doing this, it was almost second nature to him. Dwight was following, Reed close behind. "There."

Nico let out a quiet breath, left hand twirling the ring settled on his right, willing to use his sword if he had to. At the sight of the jacket that stood across the slim figure pressed to the wall, he started to breathe hard. He heard Dwight whisper urgently to Reed. The sound of Reed's footsteps crunching over dead leaves told Nico that the boy was running.

"Together?" Dwight asked fervently, breathing harsh.

"Always." Nico nodded, before the two stepped out from behind the trees.

"_Hey_!"

Karofsky whirled around, facing Nico and Dwight, who was wielding a flashlight and what appeared to be a water sprayer. Dwight looked badly scared but he aimed the sprayer at him. "Get away from him!"

"Dwight?" Kurt stared. "Nico."

"Kurt! You all right?" Nico yelled, keeping an eye on Karofsky. "Did he hurt you?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Karofsky glowered at both of the boys, one who he had once slushied on a regular basis, the other who looked as though he could be broken like a stick. He took one step towards them and Dwight started yelling in panic, giving him two sprays—which did no good—and throwing rock salt—which also did no good. Nico crouched, tense, ready to attack. Though he wasn't overly good at hand on hand combat, he would be willing to give it a try. The two boys exchanged glances and, as quick as a flash, darted around Karofsky until they were standing in front of Kurt.

"Get away from my friend you—demon!" Dwight yelled, the last word having the least conviction. Nico didn't protest, his hand going back to the ring on his finger.

"Is _everyone_ in here insane?" Karofsky demanded to no one in particular.

Dwight actually answered, "Yes! I mean, no—not everyone. _We're sane."_

Dwight shifted his feet, tense, "weapons" still aimed. "The others are on their way. They'll be here in a minute—and they're all going to kick your ass!"

"Or I'll do it now."

Kurt moved Dwight aside a moment, dodging around Nico and stepped forward. "Leave," he told Karofsky. The older boy's eyes narrowed. Kurt continued to speak in a low, shaking tone. "You've been expelled once. You break into a private school—I don't think they'll be letting you off with a slap on the wrist. Get out of here before the others come."

Karofsky hesitated onto for a moment, looking at him with suspicion. But it only lasted for a moment. He "lunged" at Dwight—who fled behind Kurt but still had the sprayer aimed—and stepped back from the alley. With a last long look at Kurt, he turned and vanished out of sight.

The three boys stood until the sound of his footfalls faded.

"Oh thank Castiel." Dwight looked like he was about to faint in relief. He slumped against the wall as Kurt did the same next to him. Both slid to the ground, devoid of any energy. Nico was still standing, eyes and ears alert. "I can't believe we lived."

"I've faced worse." Nico was faced with shocked faces, but he too slumped against the wall.

Kurt looked and smiled faintly at Dwight, though his hands were still shaking uncontrollably. He gave his friend a quick, tight hug and a heavy pat on the back. "Thanks, Dwight. You're my hero."

"Yeah…" Dwight looked awkward, flustered at the uncommon action. "You're welcome, but uh…could you not tell Blaine and Logan that you hugged me? 'Cause, they're really…aggro…? And I don't want them to think that I'm making the moves on you, because there is just _no way… _Not that—not that you're terrible!" he quickly added, flailing. Nico was shaking with suppressed laughter at his friends rambling. "You're a great guy—person— But I don't like you. I mean, I like you, but not like you _that_ way. Because I like girls. If…there were actually any girls interested, I mean—I mean there haven't been much, like, ever, but—"

"Dwight?"

"Yeah?"

"You can stop talking."

"Oh." Dwight fell quiet. He was reduced to trying to catch his breath. Kurt leaned back to the wall, closing his eyes and Nico straightened up, beaming when he spotted the flashlights, signaling the arrival of the Windsor triad of Blaine, Wes and David. "Kurt! Dwight! Nico!"

"Here, over here!" Reed cried.

The beams arrived at the alley, all aiming at the two on the cold ground. Nico let out a deep breath, avoiding the lights. Dwight and Kurt squinted.

"Oh thank God," Reed breathed as Blaine ran into the alley and to Kurt, kneeling next to him. "Are you all right?" he asked, face contorted in concern.

Kurt practically flung himself at Blaine, who merely hugged him back. "Shh…" he whispered, patting him. "You're okay. We're here."

Kurt swallowed and nodded, and he, Dwight and Blaine now rose. "What happened?" David demanded.

"Karofsky he…he just grabbed me. He only held me down to keep me from screaming. But he just wanted to talk. He didn't actually hurt me, he just—wanted to talk about some things. Nico and Dwight showed up and scared him off."

Dwight smiled tremulously, not exactly sure if his performance merited the credit and Nico merely shrugged. Wes patted patted both boys on the back.

"Okay…" Blaine nodded and hugged tight Kurt again. "All right." He paused, staring into the blackness of the evening. Blaine closed his eyes. "…I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."

"Looking at it from here…I think I didn't need you there then. I think that he was just someone I had to face by myself. Like you said…I had to confront him." Kurt looked at Blaine with a faint smile. "Courage. Right?"

The Twins and Logan finally arrived into the scene.

"Alice!" the twins immediately ran to him, tearing him off Blaine and hugging him like a rag doll in relief. Kurt managed to get an emotion across—annoyance.

"Guys—let me go for goodnessake. I'm not dying."

"We totally thought you were! Blaine went running out of Windsor like he was possessed!"

"Did you see him?" asked Evan.

"What did he say?" Ethan demanded.

"What did he do?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"Speak to you?"

"_Breathe _on you?"

"We have access to real guns."

"And shovels."

"And a demi-god." The boys ignored the son of Hades' indignant 'hey'.

"And large tracts of land!"

"Immediately, even!"

"Could the both of you just let go of me?" Kurt snapped irritably. "I can't breathe."

The twins promptly dropped him. Kurt brushed himself off almost nonchalantly as he sighed and looked up tiredly. He met Logan's gaze and Logan looked away.

Kurt did not. He only looked at him and said, "Logan…I know you were just trying to help me but…there are just certain boundaries you shouldn't cross."

"So it _was_ about what he did?" Wes said angrily, looking at Logan. "That guy came here because Logan pushed him around?"

"Logan didn't do anything—it was Karofsky who swung at him," said Kurt quietly. "But Logan did go after him and…I think it prompted him to come here in some way." Kurt looked away. "Maybe because he wanted to see what kind of a place accepted and defended people like us."

Kurt sighed. He looked at Dwight. "…sorry about your birthday, Dwight. I really am—I'll make it up to you."

"Oh shut up, Kurt, you know I don't care about my birthday," Dwight said irritably, though he looked happy at the attention. "You can't help it that you're cursed and as a hunter my job is to suppress any side effects of that." He sighed, smiling at his weapon. "Besides. I got to be the hero."

After that statement, the perfect mix of awkward, reassurance and inanity that only Dwight could achieve, no one actually had anything to say. Nico laughed good heartedly, pulling Dwight into a sideways hug.

Without a word, Blaine put an arm around Kurt's shoulders and led him back to Windsor, the others following.

XoooX

Thalia stepped out of the car, closely followed by Annabeth, Percy and a bouncy Fahra. She took a look at Dalton, a smile making its way across her face as she looked at the tiny lights in the upper stories. Nico didn't expect them to show up. Well, they would surprise him.

As they made their way towards the entrance, Fahra was greeted by quite a few people, mostly teachers, who said they were glad to see her while not sneaking into Stuart House, Windsor House or the Warbler's hall. Fahra responded with a grin. They seemed to have taken to her random visits very well. Thalia highly doubted they'd seen her properly dressed up.

"Rose!" Fahra was attacked on both sides by a pair of over-excitable twins, causing her to laugh.

"Tweedles!" She responded. "You haven't met Annie and Percy yet." She turned, the twins turning with them. Annabeth and Percy looked confused. "Seaweed Brain, Wise Girl, this is Ethan and Evan. They know." She whispered the last bit mock conspiratorially, before beaming.

"We're going to steal Rose. Take her to the green room and stuff." Ethan said.

"Bye!" Evan said, before the trio spun round and skipped off before Thalia, Annabeth and Percy could protest.

"So, Rose, anything interesting happen?" Ethan asked.

"The usual." Fahra shrugged. "I had a pen war with Ethan in Spanish. It was fun."

"Nice." Evan said.

"Hey Knave! Alice!" Fahra yelled, waving to where the two were standing. Logan waved back while Kurt turned an interesting shade of red and glared.

They walked towards where the green room was and Fahra found herself reeling as she spotted proper Blaine and a taller, green eyed version of him. "Woah, it's two Blaines."

"Shane!" The Tweedles greeted.

"Ethan, Evan." Shane grinned. "And this is…"

"Our own talking flower." Ethan began.

"Fahra." Evan ended.

"Nice to meet you." Fahra chirruped, holding out a hand, which Shane shook.

"Same."

And at that moment, it seemed as though everyone was gathered in one place.

Wes showed up, greeting Shane. Reed followed soon after and Shane appeared to have heart failure, pulling Blaine to the side and asking him questions.

It was at this point that Logan and Kurt reappeared into the hallway, stopping short at the small crowd in the way. Simultaneously, at the other end of the hall, David materialized with Derek—who had with him Tabitha Adams—both looking deeply unhappy. They stopped upon seeing the assembled.

At the same moment, Greg and Sylvia came through an adjoining hall—the former looking furious, the latter looking worried. They were flanked by Hilde and a man in impeccable clothing that they didn't at once recognize.

The entire mass stared at each other.

David's eyes widened. "Wes?"

"David?" his best friend blinked, and looked at the two with him. "Tabitha?"

"Derek?" Reed stared at the pair with David. "Fahra?"

"Reed!" Hilde gasped at the sight of her once again rumpled son.

"Shane?" Logan stared, confused, at the sight of Blaine's brother.

"Kurt?" Blaine looked, also confused.

"Logan!" the man in the suit looked as though he would explode.

"_What the hell is going on here_?" Greg finally boomed, causing every boy in the hall to wince at his uncommon wrath. "You're all on in five minutes! What are you doing here? Kurt! Reed! Let's go!"

Hilde fussed over her so, trying to sort out the wrinkles in his uniform. The man had, at this point, grabbed Logan by the elbow.

"You're coming with me, right now, I've had enough of this."

"No, I'm not!" Logan shot back, tearing himself free, looking furious. "Why the hell are you even here?"

"Logan!" Sylvia said, scandalized. She looked up at the man. "Mr. Wright, please—this isn't the place—"

"What's this I hear that you haven't been taking your medication?" the man snarled to his son. "Have you _completely_ lost your mind?"

Every student that wasn't a Stuart now looked confused. Blaine looked from him to Logan, brow furrowed. "Medication?"

"What medication?" Fahra asked, staring.

Kurt looked startled. "What do you mean he takes medication? For what?"

Logan, stunned, turned to Derek, who turned white. "I didn't tell him, Logan, I swear!"

"It doesn't matter who told me!" John Logan Wright, Jr. exploded onto his son. "You can't be doing this to yourself anymore, Logan! I'm taking you back to New York right now!"

Logan stepped back, his whole body vibrating in rage. "You're not taking me anywhere! You _left_ me here when you couldn't take the heat! When you knew I'd Fahra's wrist, the closest person he could reach. She stared with wide blue eyes at the senator, before turning back to stare at Logan.

Logan glanced around frantically and pointed to his father. "And you know what? I _like_ it here. It might totally _suck_and it might be in the middle of fucking nowhere, and maybe everyone in here hates my guts, but I'm not going anywhere! I want to _be someplace_for once! I'm sick of you dropping me whenever it's inconvenient to you! I actually have friends here!"

"Stop it—_STOP_!" Fahra yelled, reaching the end of her tether. "All of you!"

Silence. No one had seen Fahra explode like that. The senator and Hilde were amazed that such a loud noise could come out of someone that small.

The entire hall looked deeply awkward. Greg glowered at them all. He turned to Wes and David. "Find the Dean. Tell her we're going to be a little late."

"But—"

"_GO!_" and the two fled, throwing confused looks at the others. Wes dragged the frightened Tabitha along with him.

Hilde grabbed Reed's wrist and pulled him away from the scene. "Mom!" Reed cried.

"Let's _go_, Reed," she said with blunt finality. Reed pulled her to a stop and tore his wrist away from her. "No." he said shakily. "I've got to be with my friends." And he ran back to the others. Hilde stood staring at her son's suddenness.

Greg glanced at Logan, seeing the look in his eyes. He seemed to be completely aware of Logan's condition. He carefully said, "Logan. Please let go of Fahra."

Logan shook. He glanced at Fahra, who was trembling slightly, amazed at her outburst and a little scared at the consequences. This made him let go immediately, realizing what he was doing. "I…"

His father now made to move forward to charge at him again, but to everyone's surprise, Blaine leapt between them, blocking his way. Mr Wright loomed down at him, but Blaine didn't move. "I think Logan said he wanted to stay," he said quietly.

Derek glanced at them and crossed the room, standing next to Blaine. "Logan's doing all right, Mr Wright," Derek said formally. "While it's true he stopped taking his medication, I can make sure he doesn't forget again."

"He didn't _forget_," Mr Wright snarled, glowering at his now shaken-looking son. "It had been intentional."

"What medication?" Fahra asked Logan quietly. He ignored the question, ignored her look.

"We know that," Greg said, looking up at him as he joined the two boys. "But Logan really _is_ improving here. I've never seen him try so hard to control himself before. If you make him leave here now…I can't tell you that it'll make things better."

Logan was sitting down against the wall now, Fahra joining him, along with Kurt. "Calm down, Lo. Deep breaths."

"I'm trying…" Logan muttered. He glanced at them both, before turning his gaze fully on Kurt. "Why are you even here?"

"Because I can be." Kurt looked intently at him. "I want the guy I met in Warbler's Hall back. The one who sang because he wanted to and played piano. I don't want this angry _thing_you've turned yourself into. Come on and change back, Logan. I don't know what's happening to you or why, but we've got you." He nodded towards the other boys. "Look over there."

Logan raised his eyes and saw Blaine, Reed and Derek standing in his father's path. His eyes rested on Blaine longest. Kurt saw this and smiled a little. "If you've got even Blaine fighting for you, you better not disappoint."

The taller boy swallowed, looking calmer now. Kurt released him and got up, joining the others. He stood next to Blaine and both looked up to Logan's father. Fahra remained where she was, feeling pride swell in her chest at her friends.

Sylvia looked at the boys, then up at Senator Wright. "Sir, with all due respect, I'd like to remind you of the conversation we had last year. …we'd like to keep Logan for one more year."

Mr Wright snorted like a bull. "He doesn't need a glee club—he needs _therapy_."

"We _are_ his therapy," Derek said quietly. "We've got Logan all right here. Sure some of us…" he didn't look at Blaine, "…may not like him all that much… But we need him here, I think, more than you do back at New York."

The man stood, not prepared to accept this. He glanced at his son, slumped next to the wall, looking up at him with clear green eyes. Evan and Ethan Brightman now decided to step in. The twin boys, who had witnessed the whole spectacle, now chose for the first time to show themselves. But unlike the others, they were completely unafraid of the Senator.

"Hello, Mr Wright," said Evan.

"Long time no see," nodded Ethan.

"We'll take Logan from here."

"You know you can trust us."

Fahra stared at them in complete and utter awe. She should learn to never underestimate the twins.

John Wright recognized the two strange twins that had once befriended his son during Junior High. He looked at the crowd that stood between him and his son and shook his head slowly. He turned to Greg. "I'm holding you personally responsible for all of this."

"Oh, I sure hope so," Greg said, looking intently.

"I still can't allow this so easily."

Suddenly, Evan said, "Mr Wright? Have you heard Logan sing?"

The strange question made everyone look at him. Ethan smiled. "Yes, have you?"

"Logan doesn't sing," the senator looked bewildered.

Kurt almost smiled. "Are you sure about that?"

The man glanced to the boy at the wall. Logan smiled faintly to himself, and all the Warblers slowly smiled, Fahra included, though she hadn't heard Logan sing herself. Even Blaine, and he said, "I really think you should."

XoooX

"Lo, why didn't you tell me you had medication?" Fahra had managed to corner Logan in Stuart, Derek letting her in. She was currently standing in the doorway to his room, her bun now loose, carrying the heels she'd worn with her white dress.

"Does it really matter, Fahra?" He sounded exasperated, flopping back down onto his bed.

"Yes, it does." She responded, placing both hands on her hips, frowning at him. "I told you I was a demi-god, for crying out loud."

"I have anger issues." Logan said, running a hand down his face. "I don't like the medication – everything turns grey. But I'm…volatile, I can explode."

"And?" Fahra responded, causing Logan to stare at her with bright green eyes. "I've face a titan, you idiot. That's much more volatile and life threatening than anger issues."

"You are so weird."

"You're my brother now." Fahra responded with conviction and Logan felt his eyes begin to water. "I couldn't give a damn if it turned out you were a fluffy, pink bear."

At that, Logan let out a genuine laugh and Fahra walked over to him, enveloping him in a hug.

"Thank you." He murmured into her shoulder.

"No problem, Lo. No problem."

XoOoX

Blargh…I'm not sure if I like this or not.

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm updating a lot and I don't know whyyyyyyy!

There are lots of this chapter I despise. So, yeah, constructive crit is welcome, also happy comments.

Some of this is from Dalton, so I don't own that.

Read and review to receive a plushie of your choice of character! ~ Jazz xxx


	8. New Years (Meeting Julian)

"Hey, Tweedles, come in!" Nico stepped away from the front door, where the twins had actually had the manners to knock. He tried to ignore the loud music blasting Paramore from the living room where Fahra was practically bouncing off the walls, singing along to it.

"That's what you get when you let your heart win!" She sang, bouncing into the hall, eyes brightening when she spotted the twins, but didn't stop bouncing. "Wotcher, guys!"

"Rose."

"Bouncy as ever."

"Good Christmas?"

"Very good Christmas – I got a very nice scarf." The conversation was mostly shouted, courtesy of the loud music. The music stopped suddenly, Thalia peering out of the living room door.

"Ethan! Evan! Hi." She said, walking over, Ethan following at a much more subdued pace, a cup of coffee clutched in one hand. He still looked drowsy – he wasn't a morning person, unlike Fahra, who was on an almost constant sugar rush. "What are you doing here?"

"New Year's party." Eeth (a/n: I'll refer to Dalton Ethan as 'Eeth' when he's with PJO Ethan) said.

"You're coming."

"We snuck into your rooms earlier."

"Trunks are in the car."

"Wait, what?" Annabeth came out of the kitchen, an eyebrow raised. Fahra drew a finger across her neck. "I haven't heard anything about this."

"We told Dodo." The twins said in unison, pointing to Nico, who put on an innocent face. "And Dwight's in the car." Fahra peered out into the street.

"Ooh, an impala. Hi Dwight!" She waved sporadically. There were four waves reciprocated. "Who else is there?"

"Wes, David, Kurt…we have Reed, Blaine and Shane at the airport." Evan said casually.

"We aren't all going to fit in there – I'm assuming you want us three to come too." Thalia said, folding her arms.

"Yes please, Eaglet." Eeth said, grinning. "And you have a car – if your dearest Annie and Percy would drive you to the airport." At that, the twins, Nico and Fahra turned pleading gazes to Annabeth, who sighed.

"Percy, we're taking a road trip!" She called up the stairs. The reply was a muffled grunt. "He's not up yet – give us ten minutes."

XoooX

"We're flying!?" Nico was having a major freak out. "I can't fly!"

"They mentioned 'airport' earlier, you noob." Fahra said casually, hugging Reed in greeting.

"Why can't Nico fly?" Blaine asked.

"Hello? Son of Hades? If I fly I will be blasted out of the sky by one very angry god of thunder." Nico flailed his arms a bit. "I'm going into his domain!"

"I'm on the plane." Thalia mentioned, though she too looked pale. "He won't kill us if I'm on it."

"You won't die, anyway, 'cause you're immortal unless killed in battle." Ethan chimed in helpfully, bounding up the stairs to the plane two at a time.

"I'm going to die!" Nico groaned, looking as though he would love to go and hide under a rock.

"It doesn't take that long to fly from here to New York." Dwight said consolingly. At that, the demi-gods froze. "What?"

"New York holds…bad memories…" Fahra trailed off a bit, looking at the plane in thought. "Might as well deal with them now." She shrugged, before running up the stairs after Ethan and almost colliding with Blaine's brother.

"Shane!" She exclaimed.

"You're…Fahra, right?" Shane beamed. "Nice to see you again. Didn't know you were coming on the trip."

"Tweedles invited me and my friends. Nico doesn't want to get on the plane – scared of heights." She said, before dodging around him and into the jet.

Eventually, after a lot of coaxing, Nico and Thalia got into the jet. As soon as Nico sat down, he clutched the hand rests on his seat, knuckles turning white. "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…"

"It's just a plane ride." Shane said untactfully, earning him a glare from an annoyed and freaked out son of Hades. "Hey!"

"He doesn't know." Wes whispered, which was a rubbish whisper, as Shane caught it.

"What don't I know?"

"…Stuff?" That earned Eeth a smack from Thalia. "OW!"

"Really subtle." She complimented sarcastically as Shane was looking at them with curiosity.

"What am I missing here?" He demanded. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Just leave it, Shane." Blaine said, taking a seat next to him. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"I do, though!" Shane protested. "Everyone else knows!"

"Just…just leave it, Shane. Please?" Reed piped up. The taller boy immediately silenced.

"So…" Ethan coughed and an awkward silence filled the plane. Dwight had crashed onto a couch and had promptly fallen asleep, arsenal of protective amulets and his holy water spritzer close at hand. Wes and David were playing a video game, Thalia observing casually, the Tweedles going over to join them. Fahra was rummaging through the pile of presents, sorting them into separate piles. Nico had fallen asleep, head resting on his shoulder.

"Well, this is awkward…" Fahra murmured, before chucking a present at Thalia, who caught it expertly. Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"Good reflexes." The daughter of Zeus smiled charmingly.

"Why, thank you." She tore the paper off and wrapped the blue scarf around her neck, it matching the blue of her eyes. "This is beautiful…Reed." She had to re-check the packaging to see who had given her it. The smaller boy laughed, waving it off.

"My mom gets so many clothes you wouldn't believe – I have tons of people to unload it onto now."

"I'm in love with this jumper." Fahra piped up, hugging a dark purple cashmere jumper to her chest, beaming. "I'm gonna keep it for forever."

The rest of the plane ride was spent in excited chatter between the people who remained awake. Dwight and Nico were dead to the world – no pun intended on Nico's part.

XoooX

It was when they reached Manhattan that Fahra began to panic. Her breathing became deeper and with shorter intervals as bad memories assaulted her. The entire island under a magical induced sleep, courtesy of Morpheus, an army of monsters and demigods marching down alleys and streets and the giant Typhon, only managing to be felled when Poseidon had finally decided to help the gods in their battle.

Reed was the first to notice and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Fahra?"

"Memories." Her voice came out shaky as everyone turned to stare at her. Fahra had to remember Shane was there – Shane, who knew nothing about her being a demigod. "My little sister…it happened in Manhattan. There was an – an accident."

"We lost her." Ethan wrapped an arm around Fahra, pulling her closer to his side. Everyone turned solemn, the wonder gone from Kurt's eyes. Fahra didn't want him to be disheartened; she wanted him to enjoy his first time in New York. But the past had caught up to her and ruined it.

"What was her name?" Wes asked, voice gentle.

"Lucy." Fahra smiled slightly. "She was blonde, with blue eyes and freckles. She always liked New York – big cities were her forte. She was twelve."

"That's so young." Shane murmured.

"It's in the past." Fahra said, shaking herself out of her stupor. "We should enjoy our time here. We're here to celebrate, right? Well, we shall do just that."

"Yeah, Rose is right!" Eeth exclaimed. "Fun times are ahead! Nico?"

"Yes, Tweedle?"

"Where did you say Sally lived again?"

XoooX

"Nico, Thalia, Fahra and Ethan!" Sally's expression was shocked as she looked at the little group standing in front of her door – actually, it was a rather large group. There were two identical twins who were beaming, a small, blonde boy with curly hair and a pale boy with black hair and a water spritzer in one hand, along with a few more boys. "What are you doing here? Who are all these people?"

"We're having a New Year's party in New York, Mrs Jackson." The boy with gelled black hair spoke up. "It was the twins' idea to visit you while we were here."

"Pleasure to meet you." One of the twins bowed.

"We've heard amazing things from Nico." The other twin said. The pale boy had placed the water spritzer back onto his belt.

"Sally, who's at the door?" Paul called from inside their apartment.

"Thalia, Nico, Fahra, Ethan and some friends." She called back, before stepping to the side. "Come in – it'll be a bit cramped. Can I get you anything?"

"Cookies!" The Dalton boys called in unison, along with Ethan. Thalia and Fahra burst into a fit of giggles, obviously remembering the incident with Kurt's cookies. Sally smiled.

"Of course. Thalia, Fahra?"

"Hot chocolate?" Fahra asked hopefully.

"Just a coffee, please." Thalia smiled. Sally nodded.

"All right. Paul, entertain the guests." She strolled into the kitchen where Paul was standing looking at the group of teenagers in his living room. The twins smiled devilishly, causing Paul to shudder. Kurt smacked them both upside the head while Nico rolled his eyes.

"Sorry for our unexpected drop in, Paul." He apologised. "These idiots are Ethan and Evan, more commonly known as the Tweedles. The boy who smacked them is Kurt, Blaine's sitting next to him. The taller version of him is Shane, currently sitting with Reed. Then there's Wes and David. Dwight is – DWIGHT! DON'T LINE THE WINDOWSILLS WITH SALT! Sorry about that." Paul blinked.

"You are friends with some strange people."

"Ah, these are relatively normal." Fahra said casually. "We are in a glee club with some of the most dysfunctional people you will ever meet."

"So true." Kurt sighed.

"Wait…glee? So, you sing?" Paul looked really confused. "I didn't know you could sing…is Percy in this club?"

"Nope." Thalia stated. "And, to be frank, I don't want him to be."

"His singing will sound like a bag of cats being hit with a bat. Repeatedly." Nico allowed that image to sink into everyone's brain, and the room shuddered simultaneously.

Sally came in then, a plate of cookies in her hands which she placed on the coffee table. As expected, just about all the Daltoners pounced on it and began eating ravenously. Sally blinked. Paul stared. Kurt and Nico sighed in unison and Fahra and Thalia giggled.

"Is this…normal?" Sally asked.

"Oh, yes." Nico hummed, nabbing one before his fingers got mauled by one of the twins. "Be grateful they haven't started a Nerf war yet."

XoooX

"Wait, wait waaaiiiiit." Nico held a hand up to silence the bickering between Dwight and the Tweedles, and the trio turned to face him in unison. "You're worried about the big midnight blackout kiss thingy and Kurt?"

"Well, yes." Dwight said, wringing his hands together. "After the whole Karofsky incident."

"Just stick him close to one of us, then." Nico perched himself on one of the kitchen counters, idly making the shadows elongate and shrink to amuse himself. "Then we can make sure no one kisses him or whatever."

"Planning on kissing anyone yourself, Nico?" Ethan (he assumed it was Ethan) waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Dwight made a choking noise in the back of his throat. Nico laughed.

"No. No one here I'm interested in kissing." He said. "Because I'm not gay or bi or something, and Thalia would punch me in the mouth if I attempted to kiss her and Ethan – other Ethan – would kill me if I kissed Fahra." Nico hummed, jumping off the countertop and wandering over to the fridge.

"What are you doing?" Evan asked.

"Looking for chocolate." He answered, opening the fridge and pulled out a chocolate mousse. "Meh, close enough."

"You're a son of Hades. And you like chocolate." Dwight's brow furrowed.

"I am only human – well, half human technically. But still." Nico tore the top off the mousse, grabbed a spoon and began to eat.

"This is so weird." Ethan whispered to Dwight.

"Got that right."

XoooX

"How on earth did you manage to get in here?" Fahra was slightly awestruck.

"Blaine's mom pulled some strings." Reed was grinning.

"Blaine's mom rules." Fahra decided, strolling around the stage. Blaine and Kurt had an impromptu song, as always. That meant they had just less than thirty minutes to do basically nothing. "Isn't this amazing? I've never thought I'd want to be on stage but now…"

"It's breath-taking, huh?" Kurt came up behind her. "I've always wanted to be a performer."

"You'd be excellent." Fahra commented. She waved her hand, imagining the audience in front of her, looking at the stage, the applause. "It would be incredible."

That was when the growling started.

"Uh, guys? Did you hear that?" Dwight turned around, facing the darker corners of the stage. The rest did the same and, through the darkness, Fahra saw two red, glowing eyes.

"What the hell?" Shane asked. "What the hell is going on here?"

"About time a stupid, fucking monster found us." Thalia hissed. "Guys, get behind us."

"What?" Shane snorted. "Why should we –"

"Just do it!" Reed pulled on Shane's arm, just as the hellhound bounded out of the shadows.

"Oh, come on? Really?" With a flick of Fahra's hand, there was a psychic wall flung up between the mortals and the demigods.

"What the –" Shane stared, wide eyes. Well, at least they didn't have to hide their powers from him anymore.

With a quick hand movement, Nico had his Stygian Iron sword in his hands, Thalia a silver bow and arrow as more emerged from the shadows.

"This sucks." Ethan muttered. "Like, seriously."

"No duh." Fahra replied, ignoring the hyperventilating breaths from Dwight behind her. "Guys, stay behind that wall. Do not move from there, or else you're dog chow."

"This is all a bad dream, right?" Shane asked. "Right?"

"Wrong." Nico replied, swinging his sword as one of the Hellhounds bounded forward. At that, the final four attacked.

Thalia fired arrows with a deadly accuracy, hitting one of them in the eye, sending it back to shadows as Kurt made a choking noise. Nico beheaded another one, Fahra concentrating on keeping the barrier up. It didn't take that long to dispatch them – after all, they had two of the most powerful demigods ever on their side, it was no real contest.

"Was about time that happened." Thalia hummed, slinging the bow over her shoulder. Wes stared as it vanished.

"What were they?" David asked.

"Hellhounds." Dwight answered. "Formed from shadows, normally found in the underworld. They can reach the size of a garbage truck."

"Your research paid off." Nico smiled grimly, transforming his sword back to a ring. Shane was staring, open mouthed.

"What are you?"

"Demigods." Ethan replied casually. "You're all right, right? No major injuries?"

"I might have suffered a heart attack." Blaine said, raising a hand to his chest. Ethan smiled.

"So we're all good, then."

XoooX

"Fahra?"

"Oh, hey there, Knave." Fahra hung from the tree which she probably wasn't allowed to be climbing on, but screw the law. He stared at her, open mouthed. "What a surprise to see you here!"

"I didn't expect you to be here." He commented. "Can you get down from that tree? It's odd talking to you when you're upside down."

"Oh, ok." Fahra flipped herself upright and jumped down in front of Logan, before hugging him. "I missed you."

Logan froze, before responding to the hug. Fahra pulled away, before looking at his eyes. Her eyebrows moved close together, lips pursed.

"You don't look…like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Your eyes are all…foggy."

"Ah, that's the medication." Logan hummed, sounding almost disinterested as he took a seat on the bench. Fahra joined him. "It stops me getting so angry, but it's like I don't feel…anything."

"There isn't anything better?" She asked. Logan shook his head. "Then this medication sucks." Logan started, before laughing.

"Got that right."

"Your dad makes you take it, doesn't he?" Fahra asked, but she knew the answer. "You shouldn't have to – you need to just, y'know, reign in your temper."

"My temper is explosive."

"You haven't met Ares – trust me, he has anger issues." Fahra grinned. "With flames for eyes and a smokin' hot girlfriend, who happens to be Aphrodite, you two couldn't be more different."

"I thought Aphrodite was married to the blacksmith?"

"Doesn't mean that she can't cheat."

"True."

The two sat in silence for a while, Fahra humming a tune under her breath, until…

"Logan?" Logan's eyes brightened sufficiently and he turned on the bench. Fahra followed suit, seeing a familiar face from the photos that Logan kept above his desk.

Julian Larson-Armstrong, actor and singer, looked very movie star like. She was amazed he wasn't being hogged by fans. His brown hair was swept across his head, a Cheshire cat grin on his face. He had a pair of sunglasses perched on his head, which confused Fahra greatly, but she brushed it off. It wasn't that big a deal, really. He, as everyone else, was wearing winter clothes. Wouldn't do for the movie star to catch pneumonia.

"Jules!" Logan said, eyes twinkling. "I thought you were in LA."

"Got a break for the New Year." He replied, grinning. "Figured I'd crash the Tweedles party – they are the ones hosting it this year, right? Oh, you must be Fahra." Julian's eyes locked with Fahra's. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Logan talks about me?" She mock gasped. "I'm honoured, Lo!" Fahra grinned as Logan rolled his eyes. "You're the infamous Julian Larson, best friend of Logan Wright. Well, that's the first time I heard of you, anyway. Expect to see me invading Dalton or Stuart or whatever, like, continuously. Oh, also, can I have your autograph so I can wave it under Santana's nose and make her blow a fuse? It'll be fun."

Julian blinked. Once. Twice. Then he laughed.

"Logan, you do know how to pick 'em."

"Actually, the Tweedles picked me –"

"I should have guessed that, really."

"- I just decided Logan was cooler." Fahra beamed. "He makes me lattes." Logan shrugged, giving Julian a helpless look as the actor laughed.

"When did you actually meet Lo? I don't expect you dorm at Dalton."

"I wish. It's like Hogwarts, don't you think?" Fahra sighed. "Anyway, the Tweedles kidnapped me and brought me to Warblerland when the Warbler's were practicing and I met Logan." She perked up. "I guess I'll be seeing you next term and stuff, right?"

"Yeah, I got finished with my filming."

"Great. Our bitchy primadonna will be reining with terror once more!" Logan cried overdramatically, causing Julian to roll his eyes.

"Oh, shut up you squ –"He cut off, tilting his head, eyes narrowing slightly. "Is that…music?"

It was.

"What the Hades is going on?"

"Nico!" a few of the group Fahra had travelled with had shown up – Ethan, Nico, Thalia, Shane and Kurt, to be precise. Julian raised an eyebrow.

"Friends?"

"Yup!" Fahra chirped, before bounding over and flinging an arm around Thalia's and Ethan's shoulders. The older girl rolled her eyes and Ethan smiled. "Guys, this is –"

"Julian Larson!" Kurt's eyes had gone wide.

"Uh-huh. Jules, I can call you Jules, right? Anyway, this is Kurt, Ethan, Thalia and Nico. My besties, of course."

"Of course." Julian dipped his head slightly, a grin on his face. "But, on another matter, where is that music coming from?"

"Over there." Nico pointed towards the right, where there was a massive group of people. "We passed them earlier – another show choir, I think."

Logan nodded. "It would be. Pure Energy – they're the Kramer High glee club."

"And they're good." Thalia hummed. "Some of the flips in there…" She let out a whistle. "I doubt you'd be able to pull them off, and you're as flexible as elastic." Fahra huffed.

"I totally bet I could."

"I'd love to see it." Thalia snorted. "It's like they're robots or something – it's creepy."

"They'll be our competition, won't they?" Kurt phrased it like a question, but the answer was obviously a yes.

XoooX

Nico was sitting on the bar. Yes, on the bar. It was more comfortable than the barstools and he wasn't in the mood to try and get through the crowd of moving bodies dancing. Fahra and Ethan seemed to be enjoying themselves, though, pulling off amazing dance moves in what space they had. Well, mostly Fahra, who was spinning, looking like a blur of red and black, Ethan attempting to not get crushed by the crowds.

"You're on the bar."

"Why, yes I am, Logan. How observant." Nico looked at the boy and frowned. "Why are you wearing a suit?"

He looked at himself.

"I couldn't find anything else. Where's Rosie?"

"Rosie? Oh, you mean Fahra? Dancing with Ethan – she's the red blur. I think she had a very high dose of sugar. Or alcohol, I think there's some in the chocolate fountain. I've never seen her drunk before."

"I can't imagine." Logan's eyes returned to the dance floor, where Fahra had somehow managed to get into a three way tango with the Tweedles. "What the -?"

"Don't ask – you don't want to know."

"I'll take your advice on that. Where's everyone else?"

"I lost them. Thalia's in a bright blue dress – electric blue. Everyone else I just lost completely."

"_Five minutes to the New Year._"

"Not planning on kissing anyone, are you?"

"No. Thalia is going to assault anyone who comes near her, Ethan called dibs on Fahra and I'm not kissing some random person. And, if you're asking, you're not my type."

Logan actually laughed aloud at that.

"What about Kurt?"

The laughing stopped, his face thoughtful. Nico bit his lip.

"I've done some thinking recently, you know. You met Jules in Central Park, right?" Nico nodded. "Well, we've been talking and…well, I've decided my New Year's resolution."

"I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. The tradition confuses me, but carry on."

"Well, I'm going to give up. On Kurt." Nico's mouth opened comically and Logan couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow…I mean, uh, really?"

"Yeah." Logan looked out towards the dance floor, eyes locking onto where Kurt stood with Blaine, so close they were almost touching. "I just want him to be happy, and if Blaine makes him happy, who am I to complain?"

"That's…that's really brave." Nico got out, thinking of Bianca. He knew how hard it was to give up on someone you loved, no matter how much you didn't want to let them go. "There'll be someone out there for you. There is for everyone."

"I know." Logan said, as the lights went off and a cheer rose from the gathered crowd. "Yeah, I know."

XoOoX

Blargh, I haven't updated in FOREVER!

This is rubbishy. I know and I'm SORRY! I promise the next chapters will be better, mainly because the ideas have been running through my brain on repeat and I'm like 'must….write…more…'.

So yeah. Finally, a new chapter!

Read, review and all that jazz! ~ Jazz


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